Winning Child Custody

By Staff Writer

If you are concerned about winning child custody, you may want to know how the judge evaluates who should have primary custody. If your case has gone to court, you can expect the judge to ask you questions to determine who should be the custodial parent. The judge will in most cases talk to your child, and find out who they wish to live with, and how much time they wish to spend with the other parent. The judge will find out who the child most often turns to for emotional support and comfort.

Practical Questions in Winning Child Custody
Then the judge will want to know in whose house your child or children are living now. He will want to know if you and your spouse shared parenting equally while married, or if one of you was away from the home often for work or travel. He will want to know how active each parent has been in mundane daily events such as dressing your children, feeding them, helping them with their homework, playing sports with them, and driving them to school and activities.

The judge will want to know who was responsible for getting them to doctor and dentist appointments, and meeting with the teacher. If these activities were not shared, but shouldered predominantly by one parent, that parent will likely be favored for primary custody. The judge will also be concerned with any special health or educational needs of your child. If you were clearly the primary caregiver, your chances of winning child custody are good.

If a custody battle is underway, the judge will ask each parent about their drug and alcohol use, their financial stability, their mental problems and their sexual habits. The judge will want to know which grandparent the child is especially close to, in the case that both parents seem unstable. Judges have considerable discretion in deciding custody cases, and may make a decision which is unfavorable to either parent. Child custody law varies from state to state, and the ruling in a conservative state may differ widely from that in a more urban or liberal state.