How is child custody determined?
A. A. Unless the parties can agree, custody is determined by the “best interests of the children” standard. Both parents begin the process with an equal entitlement to parenting rights. There are statutory and other criteria, which Judges are to apply in making custody and parenting determinations. Please visit our “Child Custody” page to view a listing of these criteria. The Supreme Court in Beck v. Beck, 86 N.J. 480, 485 (1981) stated that the “pertinent statute [N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23] provides courts with broad authorization for custody determinations in divorce proceedings ….” See also Terry v. Terry, 270 N.J. Super 105 (App.Div.1994). Generally, in New Jersey, there are two overall concepts of child custody. The first is “Legal Custody.” This refers to the authority vested in the parents to make decisions of a non-routine nature, which affect the child’s health education or welfare.
The child custody laws in Massachusetts focus on the needs of the child and who can best meet those needs. The court seeks to provide the best and least disruptive living arrangements for the children of a divorce while considering the importance of the child’s continuing relationship with both parents.
Child custody is one of the most complex and stressful part of any divorce involving children. There are several reasons for this. First, emotions run their highest in any situation in which a person’s children are involved. Second, child custody aspects of a divorce are frequently difficult to settle and are involve complicated language which many people don’t fully understand. Courts in Texas base their legal rulings involving children on what is in the “best interests of the child”. This is a very fluid and arguably vague standard, giving courts significant discretion to determine how to deal with child custody matters. The court will consider various factors, such as the child’s needs, each parent’s skills at caring for a child, the proximity of each parent to other family members, each parent’s past conduct, and in some cases, the child’s preferences. What are the differences between “possessory conservatorship” and “managing conservatorship”? The terms, “possessory conservatorshi
In Washington, the law instructs courts to make custody decisions that further the best interests of the children. To make this decision, the court considers any relevant background information that will help determine what is in the children’s best interests. Unless the court orders otherwise, a parent who is not awarded custody will be awarded reasonable visitation rights, subject to certain statutory limitations.
