What is the most traditional custody arrangement that a court imposes?

The most traditional arrangement is for the parties to share joint legal custody, and the wife/spouse in most cases gets physical or residential custody. When one parent receives custody, the other parent receives visitation rights. This parent is also referred to as the non-custodial parent. The amount of visitation rights that a parent receives varies in each individual case. Visitation rights cases range from supervised visitation at the court house, to splitting parenting time equally.

Are the children's wishes considered by the court in a custody dispute?

In many cases, the court will consider the children's wishes if they believe that they are of an age to make an intelligent decision. The court will then interview the child in chambers. The court will then ask the child if they have a preference with regard to custody. This type of interview with the child is called an "in-camera interview." The goal of this type of interview is to assist the court to determine what the child's wishes are. In many cases, younger children are often influenced by the parent with whom they live with. Therefore, sometimes a young child's answers may be skewed. Alternatively, older children are much less influenced by their parents. A court always takes into consideration the age of the child when it determines how much weight to place on the outcome of the interview.

How can a person apply for custody of their child?

The first step that a person must take in a custody case is to file a complaint or a motion with the court. Once the custody application is received by the court, it will then be reviewed to determine if the case should be sent to custody mediation. Each county has their own custody mediation procedure. However, in almost every county, a custody case is first sent to mediation to try to work out a reasonable compromise. In addition, all parents are required to take a parental education class. These classes are run by the county, and there is only one session. If the custody mediation is unsuccessful, then the court will then order a hearing to determine the issues of custody and mediation.

What kind of assessments does the court make of the parents?

In many custody cases, one parent alleges that the other parent is an unfit parent, and they should not have custody. In this type of case, the court will order an evaluation of the parties. These types of evaluations are called a best interest investigation, a risk assessment, and/or a psychological evaluation.

A risk assessment is an evaluation that is provided by the court on request. A risk assessment is conducted by the County Probation Department. A risk assessment is usually requested when one parent is alleged to have an alcohol or drug problem. A risk assessment is also often requested when one parent has a history of sexual abuse. These types of cases are the nastiest.

For a risk assessment, a member of the Probation Department will go to the parties homes and determine if it is safe for the child to have visitation there. Many courts are just overwhelmed. In some counties, it can take many many months for a risk assessment to be completed. In other less backlogged counties, a risk assessment is completed in a timely fashion.

Another type of evaluation conducted by the courts is called a "best interest investigation." This type of investigation is also performed by the County Probation Department. There is no charge to the parties for the court to conduct this type of investigation. This type of investigation looks into the character and fitness of the parents, the economic condition of the family, and the financial abilities of the parties.

Finally, a court can also order a psychological evaluation of the parties. Whether a court grants an application for a psychological evaluation will depend on the individual judge. A psychological evaluation is costly, and the parties must also pay for this expense.

What happens if there is a custody dispute that involves different countries?

A custody dispute that involves different countries is becoming more common all of the time. I am sure that many people have heard of the case wherein a man marries a "hot looking" latina woman. Quite frequently, once marital problems arise, the latina women moves back to South America, Central America, the Dominican Republic, or to the Caribbean. Moreover, those arranged marriages from India often are a disaster. I have heard of many cases wherein the Indian wife leaves her husband and goes back to India. Quite often, the Indian wife also leaves with the child(ren).

The plain truth of the matter is that the world is getting smaller as each generation passes. In the near future, inter-country custody disputes will be just as common as interstate custody disputes.

What is child custody?

Divorce can be an earth-shattering event for children, creating feelings of loss, confusion, fear, anger, and resentment. Several recent psychological studies indicate that children can experience these effects for years, and it can affect how children, once grown, approach their own marriages and childrearing.

In addition to the psychological effects, divorce can have economic effects on children. Children often suffer a change after a divorce, sometimes financially, almost always emotionally.

Divorce is not common in the India. A quoted statistic is that "almost half of all marriages end in divorce." That leaves a lot of children enduring the effects of divorce.

Child custody laws throughout the India seek to provide some sense of order to the disruption of divorce and separation in efforts to smooth over this transition from a unified, nuclear family to a two-household family, with the spouses/parents living separate and apart.

One parent, generally termed the "custodial parent," will receive custody of the child(ren) from the court. The child(ren) will live for the most part with this custodial parent and visit with the "noncustodial parent" for short periods of time (hours or days). One exception to this rule is the "joint physical custody" arrangement.

Under joint physical custody, the time is divided more evenly or equitably (not always the same thing, so ask your attorney what may happen in your particular case). The child(ren) will spend significant amounts of time with each parent, often weeks at a time. Obviously, should the parents live in different states or towns - or sometimes even just school districts - a joint physical custody arrangement can be quite complicated for both the children and the parents.

What child custody arrangement is considered best?

Since children can suffer the effects of divorce fin different ways, so the best arrangement is the one that works for your family. Each family is unique in its needs and wants, and each parent should attempt to minimize the trauma on the child(ren) if it looks as though divorce is inevitable. Parents should agree to a custody arrangement that is carefully negotiated, thought out and planned.

We have all seen or heard of parents who use their child(ren) as leverage in the divorce proceedings. Do not do this! It is emotionally devastating for both the child(ren) and the parents and can often lead to bitterness and hatred. One need not compound the already emotionally charged atmosphere of the divorce or separation. Each parent must keep in mind that he or she will always have a relationship with their ex-spouse, so long as they want to remain as an active parent.