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Child custody not only involves the physical custody and control of your child, but the parental rights, privileges, duties and powers connected to child rearing. Most people probably associate child custody with divorce actions, but child custody issues are also common in actions involving paternity, guardianship, termination of parental rights, and juvenile delinquency. The "best interests of the child" is the universal standard used in determining child custody issues. How child custody issues are treated by the courts reflects changes in the decisions issued by the courts, states statutes, society and psychological research findings.

Best Interests and Joint Custody

The "best interests of the child" will be a court's fundamental consideration when determining a child custody issue. A court looks at the facts and circumstances of your case, presumes that your child's best interests are served by granting custody to a parent, and seeks to find the custodial arrangement which best serves your child's physical, psychological and emotional needs. This standard, which has been emphasized since the late 1970's, is in contrast to the former presumption for maternal custody, which was based on the premise that mothers provided the necessary nurturing for children of tender years of age.

Joint custody is the presumed or preferred form of child custody in many jurisdictions, which reflects societal changes such as mothers working outside of the home and fathers taking a more hands-on role in child rearing. You might find it surprising if you look at how many aspects there are to the concept of joint custody. While joint custody can be simply defined as shared custody, there are many forms of joint custody in which parents will share both physical custody of the child and the legal rights connected to child-rearing decisions.

Child Custody and the Courts

Child custody will be among the first and most important issues you will address as a divorcing parent, and even in the most bitterly contested cases, the parties generally have a sincere concern in reaching the custody and visitation arrangement that best serves their child. In a divorce action, you might see several methods used by the courts in arriving at a decision on the custody order for your child.

• Courts will often accept the custody plan fashioned by the parents in their separation agreement upon reviewing the plan to ensure that it serves the child's best interests.
• Mediation of custody issues can enable you and your spouse to avoid hostile, stressful and traumatic litigation of a custody dispute by providing both of you with the chance to reach the common goal of serving your child's best interests in a civil manner. Mediation of custody issues is mandatory in some states.
• Specialized courts are being used in some states for cases involving child custody disputes, such as the specialized court in Connecticut, which has achieved a high success rate in settling custody disputes.
• You may be required to participate in parent education courses, which seek to inform parents of the effects of divorce on children, and to supply you and your spouse with strategies to cope with the issues that you and your child will likely face during and after the divorce.
• Attorneys' roles in custody actions have changed as well. An attorney appointed as a guardian ad litem may serve as an advocate for your child's best interests, or as a neutral fact-finder, who acts more as an investigator and provides a judge with information upon which to make a custody ruling.

Custody Rights and Children's Rights

Finally, in considering plans for your child's custody, it is important to keep in mind that courts are increasingly recognizing children's rights and needs. Courts recognize psychological authorities and studies related to child custody issues, and the role of third parties, such as grandparents, stepparents, and others in determining custody and visitation plans for children when divorce or other circumstances remove children from the traditional family setting.

Related Resources on Lawyers.com^sm

- Types of Child Custody
- Types of Joint Custody Arrangements
- Regaining or Changing Custody
- Child Custody articles and information
- Find a Child Custody attorney near you
- Visit our Child Custody Message Board for more help

Related Web Links

- State Specific Domestic Relations and Family Codes Websites