How Does A Judge Make Decisions with Child Custody Cases?

Posted on February 21, 2013 by About The Children LLC — 13 Comments

Child Custody Factors in the Judge’s Ruling

A judge isn’t going to dismiss your case because of a single factor in your case file or your personal life. Everyone has issues and nobody is perfect here. However, the judge will not make a ruling that will negatively affect the children involved in a particular custody situation. If you don’t know what to do here, that’s ok, lots of parents don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. The one common factor is that all parents want the best outcome for their kids. So what do you look for in your individual case that could determine the end result? Let’s lay down some key factors that are commonly brought up in child custody cases.

Stability. This is a general term for many different aspects of a person’s life. If you have opted out of settling things out of court and find yourself standing in front of the judge waiting to hear what he will say, you need to have your life together if you want your child to remain with you primarily. Historically, for fathers, this is slightly more difficult, depending on the age of the child and a few other determining factors. However, ask yourself these questions: Are you financially secure? Do you have a job, car, place to live? Are you psychologically stable? If you are prone to lose your temper a lot or have a colorful past, these might affect the judge’s decision.
Relationship With The Kids. It’s unfortunate but sometimes true that a parent will file for full custody of their child just to get at their ex without really having developed a strong bond with the children. Whether or not this is the case, the judge will most likely examine what your relationship with the kids is like. You need to leave your personal vendettas out it. You might need to develop said relationship before you think about petitioning the court for full custody, unless there is some underlying reason why you feel the child should reside with you primarily. If the child has stronger emotional ties to one parent over the other this will definitely come into play during the judge’s deliberation.
Why Are You Seeking Custody? This could be a silly question but motive plays a big role in all of this. You might want to ask yourself this before you even start the process of filing for custody. A lot of parents out there just want to be with their kids, this is a given. However, look a little deeper into your own decision. If you’re a father seeking full custody of your five year old child, ask yourself if this will emotionally hurt them or railroad their relationship with their mother. If the other parent is providing them with a safe and stable environment, taking them out of that environment to live with you could be detrimental to their well being, and a judge will most likely come to the same conclusion. Shared custody is really the best option if both parents have their lives together financially and psychologically, think about how you might be able to make this possible.

There are many more factors that affect the outcome of a child custody battle than can be discussed in this one article. If you just take a step back and look at the situation as a whole, it might be easier to discover the weak spots in its proverbial armor. Make yourself a check list if you have to before you start checking boxes and filing papers. Is this the right decision for your child? Have you asked your child what they might want? Are you making rational decisions or is your judgment coming from a heightened emotional state? It’s pretty simple; make sure your making sound decisions and using good judgment.

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