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Focusing on the child’s best interests

If you’re getting divorced and you have children, the court may be in charge of coming up with a child custody schedule. They do this in situations in which the parents can’t agree but both have a right to custody of the children. These custody battles can be long and complex, but the court will eventually provide a solution. 

When the court has to make this decision, the goal is to focus on the children’s best interests. The decision that is made should revolve around those interests more than what the parents want.

What are a child’s best interests?

To determine what your child’s best interests are, the court will look at a number of different factors. Some of these factors include the following:

  • The child’s age 
  • The child’s gender 
  • The child’s health and/or special needs 
  • The parent’s physical and mental health 
  • Whether or not the parents have a criminal record 
  • What each person’s living situation looks like 
  • Where are the children go to school 
  • How old the children are at the time 
  • What roles the parents filled when they were married, such as the main breadwinner and the main caretaker
  • The child’s wishes, if old enough

This doesn’t mean that your own desires aren’t going to be considered. You may be very confident that you would like to get custody of your child because that’s the most important thing that matters to you. And it matters to the court, too. But it is also important to know that they are going to put the child’s best interests first.

If you’re going through a divorce and a complicated custody situation, be sure you know about all of your legal options.