Custody battles are traumatic for everyone involved. Parents deal with stress and heartache while battling to be awarded custody. The children are the ones who suffer most.
Process of Custody
Both parents spend many waking hours obtaining information, witnesses or anything else that may help show why they’re the better parent for the children. This can take time away from the children and can cause parents to argue.
Parents generally must go through a mediation process before going to court. In mediation, a third party helps work through differences they have. If unable to resolve their differences, they’ll follow through with court.
Sole physical and Legal Custody
Sole physical custody means that children reside exclusively with one parent. A parent with sole legal custody makes major decisions such as education and medical decisions. Usually, the parent who has sole physical custody also is awarded legal custody.
When there is a joint child custody agreement, both parents will decide the children’s important decisions. In some states, both parents may share both legal and physical custody.
Factors Determining Custody
The first thing a judge takes into consideration is the best interest of the child. He also looks into factors like time spent with the children, anger issues, ability to care for them and age of the children. Older children are sometimes allowed to choose.
How Children are Affected
Children may feel unwanted by the parent who loses the battle. If parents act out in court, children may be embarrassed. Child custody battles also tend to have a psychological effect. Sometimes children must testify which may be traumatic.
Parents may talk about each other which can harm the children. One parent may withhold visits from the other. Again, the children are the ones who suffer.
Custody Statistics
According to national statistics, there are approximately 13.4 million parents living with children while the other parent lives elsewhere. About half of them had either legal or informal child support agreements. Sadly, less than half of parent’s due child support receive full payments.
Overview
Child custody cases can leave families feeling broken. An experienced attorney can help bring peace to the chaos and help families settle their differences in the best interest for the child. However, it’s recommended to do a little shopping around before you decide on the attorney you want to hire for your case. Consider asking potential attorneys questions about their experience, if they have handled a case similar to yours, cost, amount of services, and generally what to expect when you hire an attorney to represent you and your family. If you need a professional attorney for your custody battle, you can also find additional legal aid here and you can search for a lawyer here.