Determining Custody How Does The Court Decide Who The Child Resides With?

If there is one specific thing that tears at a mothers or fathers heart it is the subject of custody. Determining who gets custody and visitation is different in every case. There is no exact formula to follow, but there are guidelines and principles you will want to go on to insure that your children get the best possible outcome.
I often hear people talk about custody, when standing in line, but they have no concept what the meaning of the word is. Does it make you wonder then that people are so mixed up and frightened about this? So lets determine what we are really talking about here. There are two kinds of custody that the court contemplates:
Legal Custody The right to make decisions regarding education, medical care, dental care, and religion..
Physical Custody The rights of parents regarding where the child will live.
Joint Legal or Physical Custody is the term used when both parents are granted the same rights. Keep in mind that the child's living arrangement doesnt need to be an equal split for a parent to enjoy this right.
No matter which type of Legal and Physical Custody (sole or joint) are granted the regular visitation schedule needs to be worked out. Read that one more time then come back. What most people are talking about is the visitation schedule (sometimes referred to as a parenting plan) but that isnt custody. While custody does have certain legal rights, parents normally have the right to visitation with their child.
First things first. If the parents are able to reach agreement, they can draw it up and the judge will likely accept it as is and simply record it, because it fills the needs of all parties and the court doesnt want to interfere if it isnt needed. Exceptions are, if the parents cant reach an arrangement, the judge considers how much visitation time a parent will receive, and is guided by the best interests of the child." Here is where you get do your homework and truly build your case. If a nursing infant is involved the father may be limited to shorter day only visits.If one parent lives out of state, the visits are likely to be holidays and summers. When the parents live close to each other, the child is healthy, 7 or 8 years of age or older, and both parents have normal schedules, it is highly likely that an nearly equal schedule can be concluded. By this point you should be seeing some patterns emerging.
Lastly, lets view how the childs wishes affect the result. It is not true that if a child is 12 the court will do what they want. There is no specific age and no guarantees. When the courts interview the child, they do so in private. What the child says is kept private and is not communicated with anyone. The court will take into account the situation of both parents, the age of the child and how grown up they are, and what the results of the childs wishes would have on the relationships of the child with each of the parents.
You can see that there are numorous factors that the court must understand before making a decision. There are no set in stone rules and no one can predict the ending. But you can put forth a reasonable argument based on your circumstances if you know what the court is looking to accomplish.