Saturday, 19 March 2016

Information Regarding Child Custody Assessment Tools

By Michael McDonald


Most courts use a regular method when deciding which parent the child should live with. The method has the kids best welfare when coming to a decision about who among the caregivers can the child live with. At times, as part of th child custody assessment tools, courts can order a drug test to be done on both parents and if a parent refuses, the consequences are severe.

Can custody be given to only one parent? This is not a certain outcome. Partial custody can be awarded to both parents which is also called joint custody. It takes three forms. Joint physical custody whereby they spend times with the kids, joint legal custody in which both parents participate in decision making and the last one takes both joint physical custody and joint legal custody.

In the past, custody was awarded to mothers especially of children below five years. But in the recent years most states consider the physical fitness of both parents. Courts will most likely award custody to the parent who has the best interests of the child disregarding the gender. Most divorced parents agree the mother to have custody while the father maintains the visitation rights.

There are instances when one parent moves out and leaves the children with the other parent. This will hurt the chances of the parent who moved out to get custody of the children. This is because he has already sent out a message that he is not suitable for physical custody. The judge will also be reluctant to change the physical location of the kids.

The childs custody depends highly also on the parents lifestyle. If a parent smokes and takes more alcohol than the other, chances are that he/she will not get the custody. A child has to live where his health will not be at risk. There are other social aspects too. If there is a history about child abuse, that would be an immediate red flag.

A parent getting custody has to be able to provide stable environment. The parent has to have the ability to provide the basic requirements like food, shelter, clothes, a good home and also medical care. The bond between a parent and a child is important. A child will most definitely prefer to live with a person he has a strong emotional bond with.

Is the sexual orientation of the guardian likely to deter one from getting custody? This decision varies from state to state. Some states do not consider a persons sexuality a hindrance to living with the kids or visiting them. In others, the judge has to consider the stigmatization of these youngsters in case the children ends up with their gay parent.

Sometimes, all these dynamics does not favor a parent over the other. What will the court do? The other option for the court is to consider the guardian who will nurture a better bond between the children and the other parent who will not get custody. Most likely the parent will be the primary caregiver since birth and can give the same lifestyle to the children as they are used to.




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