Important Things to Know About Child Custody Rights
If you and your spouse are currently in the process of divorce, it’s of course a very difficult thing for you to go through. However, it’s doubly difficult when there are children to be considered. It’s important to make sure that child custody rights are considered and taken care of properly. What does this mean, though? Who becomes the primary custodial parent, if applicable? Who will pay child support?
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Most jurisdictions don’t have specific child custody laws, which means that parents (and children) have differing rights depending on where they live.
Child Custody Rights: Getting Legal Representation
Because most places don’t have specific laws in regard to child custody rights, parents are often advised to get child custody lawyers so that they can be continually advised of the proper course of action during the proceedings.
Child Custody Rights: The Nature Of Custody
The first question to consider is the nature of the custody arrangements. Courts operate under the opinion that children have inherent rights to know and have relationships with each of their parents. Therefore, the approach to visitation is to make sure children have access to both parents, as long as the best interests of the child are protected.
One common scenario is that parents will agree to continue to share parental privileges and rights; in that case, they’ll share joint custody. However, if a relationship is particularly volatile such that divorcing spouses don’t agree on joint custody as the best option, the court will intervene to determine what is. In addition, the “best interests of the child” in terms of child visitation rights are always considered by courts, such that the court may determine another arrangement is better, independent of the parents’ opinions.
In some cases, the best solution for the child may be determined to be that one parent has full custody. That means that parent is fully responsible for the child’s well being, and has full parental rights and privileges, including legal responsibility for the child. The spouse who does not have custody may still be granted visitation, depending on circumstances. Regardless, the spouse who has been given full custody is completely responsible legally for the child, whether or not visitation is granted to the noncustodial spouse.
Child custody rights dealing with child support may also be a consideration during child custody arrangements. Oftentimes, the noncustodial parent is required to pay child support for minor children to the custodial parent, to help cover the costs of raising that child.
Visitation rights may also need to be determined during custody arrangements. In some cases, the court may determine that it’s not in the best interests of the child for the noncustodial parent to see that child, in which case the noncustodial parent won’t be granted any visitation rights; alternatively, noncustodial parents may only be granted supervised visitation rights if for some reason it has been determined that the noncustodial parent is not a safe person for the child to spend time alone with. However, if the divorce is amicable and parents are willing, courts will usually let parents work out a visitation schedule to determine when children will spend time with each parent. This is then presented to the court for approval.
If you are in the process of divorcing your spouse and need to learn about child custody rights, the best recourse is usually to get legal representation; your attorney will be able to inform you of the particular laws of your jurisdiction; he or she can give you other assistance as well, including helping you navigate the legal process and help with any child custody forms.
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