Child custody cases are among some of the hardest to be involved in and the hardest to mediate. While you might think that the process is rather straight forward, there are plenty of nuances that affect the outcome and that affect who the child ultimately ends up living with. If you are involved in a child custody case, child custody attorneys can help you through the process and can help you figure out a good child custody agreement.
Can a Child Choose Who Gets Custody of Them?
This is a question that is fairly common and that most parents ask at some point or other during their child custody cases. Put simply, the child cannot ultimately choose who they want to or legally choose, but they do have some say in the matter. When it comes to children that are involved in the custody process, they can tell the court who they prefer to live with, but the legal decision ultimately lies with the judge and with the court.
That is not to say that the words of the child do not come into play when the decision is being made and that the judge does not take their preference into account.
What is the Child Custody Process?
It is helpful in this case to learn a little bit about the child custody process. The first step is to establish a custody agreement out of court if that is at all possible. Most parents will try to mediate and determine a child custody agreement without taking it to court to save time, money and potential distress to the child. When this does not work, the process does move to the court.
The court is going to be the third party that determines what the custody agreement is going to be, the child support, visitation and more and that makes a legal record of it. The court has the ultimate say in what goes and in what is written into the legal agreement. They take into account the testimony of both parents as submitted by their attorneys, they help determine how much child support either party needs to pay, and they help to determine what is a fair division of custody for both parents that is in the best interest of the child.
The goal of a child custody hearing is to create an agreement that is best suited for the child and that does as little to change the lifestyle of the child as possible. The judge is going to be trying to create an agreement in which the child is going to flourish and where their life is not going to be overly upset.
In some cases, the child will be asked who they want to live with and this statement will be taken into account when creating a child custody agreement.
When Does a Child Get a Say?
In some cases, the court will ask the child who they prefer to live with and will take that information into account when forming the custody agreement. To prevent one parent from pitting the child against the other, children that are very young are not going to be able to say who they want to live with. In most cases there is a threshold for age.
The general consensus is that if a child is old enough, if they understand what is going on, and if they have a vested interest in choosing a parent, their testimony can be used. This does not mean that a child will simply say who they want to live with and that is that, instead, the judge will take that testimony along with all the other information into account then make the decision.
In cases where abuse is suspected, this testimony is especially important and in cases where a child is not in an ideal living situation as well. The child has the right to say that they want to live with one parent or other but the judge may ask them why they made that decision and may as questions to back up their choice.
When to Hire an Attorney?
If you are involved in a child custody case or feel that you might be at any time, it is best to hire an attorney as soon as possible. An attorney is going to be able to help you create a custody agreement that is both acceptable and useful for the parents and also suitable for your child and for their best interest. Hiring an attorney straight away is going to be your best recourse legally and in terms of creating a binding custody agreement.
Children are so precious and it is the goal of parents to make sure that they are well cared for and that any custody agreement fits their needs. With an attorney you can figure out just what you are entitled to, how to go about getting custody of your child or altering existing agreements, and making sure that your child is well cared for no matter what and that they are first and foremost happy and safe.
