Top Five Factors the Court Considers When Determining Custody

Prominent custody factors include the child’s age, health, and safety.

Before they approve custody settlements, judges must ensure that the provisions are consistent with relevant portions of Florida law, such as the co-parenting law. In the old days, children “lived” with one parent and “visited” the other one. Now, the law expects both parents to assume active parenting roles. Some formal child custody factors are listed below.

Most courts consider informal factors as well, such as a parent’s posture during the divorce or other proceedings. If a parent has a bulldog lawyer who contests everything, most judges assume the parent will be even more combative when court supervision ends. Therefore, a Sarasota family law attorney must assume the proper posture in these matters. A lawyer cannot be too argumentative but cannot be a doormat.

Child’s Age

Legally, a judge may consider the preference of any child, regardless of the child’s age. However, most judges assign greater weight to the preference of an older child.

PAS (Parental Alienation Syndrome) sometimes comes into play. Some parents coach their children with the intent to drive an emotional wedge between the child and the other parent. Other parents cajole, bribe, or threaten children. Experienced family law judges and experienced social workers quickly spot hidden signs of PAS, an emotionally destructive condition for everyone involved.

Child’s Health

All these factors overlap to a certain extent, and the child’s health, both emotional and physical health, is a good example.

Some parents lack the time or temperament to deal with a child who has severe emotional, physical, or other problems. That does not necessarily mean the person is a “bad parent.” It simply means that the parent would not be a good residential parent (a parent with “full” custody).

Furthermore, for one reason or another, some parents do not maintain healthy environments for their children. Parents who are frequently absent, whether for a good reason or a bad one, are a good example.

Usually, a court considers not only the child’s immediate health and safety but also the child’s long-term emotional development.

Parent’s Ability

The child’s best interests aren’t exclusively focused on the child. Physical, emotional, or other limitations, perhaps self-inflicted and perhaps not, often limit a parent’s ability to be a good parent.

This factor looms large in an initial determination and even larger in a subsequent modification. A Sarasota family law attorney often modifies custody orders based on the onset or removal of a parent’s disability.

Home Environment

Whether they admit it or not, children, especially young children, need boundaries and consistency in their lives. Custodial parents must have a demonstrated ability to establish these limits. Of course, a parent cannot go too far in this area. Children need limits, but they also need freedom.

Child’s Relationships

Children often feel closer to Mom or Dad at certain times in their lives. This factor also considers a child’s relationship with biological relatives and stepsiblings and step-parents, if any.

Safety of a Child

To a greater or lesser extent, all homes are dangerous, and all parents must take appropriate precautions. For example, if Mom takes antidepressants and painkillers, she must ensure that her children don’t have access to these medications and that she’s fit to properly look after them.

Some neighborhoods are dangerous. If the area has a high crime rate, the custodial parent must once again take proper precautions, such as not letting a child walk alone after dark and maintaining a robust home security system.

Work With a Detail-Oriented Sarasota County Attorney

Judges usually approve child custody settlements, which are consistent with legal factors. For a confidential consultation with an experienced family law attorney in Brandon, contact Carman & Finegan, P.A. We routinely handle matters throughout the Sunshine State.