In awarding child custody, the court will act in what it believes is the best interest of a child. As such, the court will not automatically award custody to the mother or whoever earns more money. In fact, due to the 1976 case, Holley v. Adams, there are several factors the court now takes into consideration when determining child custody.
Typically, these factors include the following:
- Which parent the child prefers to stay with
- To what extent each parent is involved in a child's life
- The emotional needs and condition of a child
- Whether a parent poses a threat to a child or has a criminal record
- Which parent functioned as the primary caregiver for a child
- What plans a parent has for a child's future
- Whether a parent has withheld certain information from the court or has attempted to conceal a problem with their relationship with their child
- Whether one parent has attempted to turn a child against the other parent
- The involvement of a parent in a child's education
- The overall quality of a household and a parent's fitness to raise a child
Collaborative Divorce and Child Custody - Avoiding Bitter Arguments
In many ways, the family law courts in Texas operate under a presumption that it is in the best interest of a child to have his or her parents involved in their life. As such, parents are encouraged to create a custody or visitation arrangement link to www.custodyxchange.com/texas/visitation-schedule.php that is in everyone's best interests. Towards this end, if you and your spouse are willing to work together, the collaborative law process allows you to arrive at mutually agreeable terms for determining child custody and parenting time arrangements.
If you live in relative proximity to each other, joint custody may be the best arrangement for you. If you live 100 miles apart or more, you can divide holidays, summer vacation time, and extended weekend stays according to a visitation link to www.friscolawfirm.com/visitation-rights.php schedule that you and your ex-spouse find agreeable. While subject to final approval by the court, collaborative law puts you in charge of your child custody agreement rather than leaving the matter up to a judge.
Child Custody and Child Support
It's important to remember that child custody can affect the amount of child support the court orders a non-custodial parent to pay. In joint custody arrangements, typically, child support will be less than in cases where sole custody is awarded to only one parent. Of course, there are several factors the court will take into consideration when determining child support and child custody. For these reasons, it's important to discuss your case with an experienced child custody attorney.
To schedule an appointment and learn how we can help you, contact Frisco, Texas child custody lawyers at Pfister Family Law today.