State Custody Laws

What are state custody laws?Child custody laws are both federal and state laws that concern a parent’s legal authority to make decisions for his child. This is called legal custody. The laws also maintain physical control over the child, called physical custody. The visitation rights of any non-custodial parent are pertained by the custody laws.
Child custody laws can be very confusing if you don’t know them. The fact that child custody laws vary quite a bit from one state to the next makes this problem even worse. Some states have exact guidelines that the judges are instructed to follow when determining who gets child custody. Other states have few or even no guidelines that judges have to adhere to. There are only a few federal laws that involve child custody. Also, some states have some specific laws that help to determine which state has jurisdiction in a particular child custody case. However, not all of the states have even agreed to adopt this law.
In theory, child custody laws are designed with the best interests of the child or children in mind. Child custody laws, for example, will prohibit a parent from having child custody if that parent has a history of child abuse or any child endangerment.

 

Different types of custodyCustody decisions involve both physical and legal custody. Let’s see the differences between these two types of custody. Physical custody refers to the responsibility of taking care of the children. This involves clothing, housing, food, and so on. Legal custody refers to the responsibility the parent has over the decisions that affect the child’s interests. These include but are not limited to medical, educational, and religious decisions, etc. This division is used in 20 states, where custody is divided into physical custody and legal custody. In the remaining states, physical and legal custody are not considered separately. In these states the term “custody” refers to and implies both types of responsibilities.
Regardless of some laws, courts in every state are willing to give joint legal custody. However, about half of the states are quite reluctant in ordering joint physical custody unless both parents agree to it. The courts will also evaluate if the child’s lifestyle is not substantially disrupted (for example if parents live within the same school district). Another thing a judge will take into consideration is whether parents appear to be able to effectively and amicably cooperate with each other in taking decisions regarding their children. Only two states, New Mexico and New Hampshire, require joint custody to be awarded. This is awarded except when the children’s best interests or a parent’s health or safety are compromised. Primary or sole custody is awarded under these circumstances: when parents live a significant distance from one another, when one parent can provide clear benefits for the child over the other parent, or when one parent is deemed unfit to care for the child. There are cases when neither parent is judged fit to retain custody. This is usually due to substance abuse problems, mental health issues, or prolonged absence. In these cases, an individual other than the parents are granted custody or given a temporary guardianship arrangement by the court. Generally speaking, courts would prefer that a child remain with family members than be placed in foster care.

 

Other ways to get your state’s child custody lawsUltimately, these factors can leave a parent’s head spinning with more questions that they have answers to. The easiest way find the child custody laws in your state is to find a good lawyer. Attorneys have been trained, have studied, and have experience arguing child custody cases in your state and are very often the best possible resource for finding child custody laws. If you are in the process of trying to win child custody, hiring the right child custody attorney is a very important part of the process. A good attorney will most likely win you the judge’s appreciation. As a matter of fact, having the right attorney can often make the difference between winning and losing your child custody case.
Also, there are other resources that you may be able to use to find child custody laws. You can find laws on the attorney general’s website. You can also consider talking to your state senator, or any state representative. They can often either find out the information for you or can put you in touch with someone at the state who can answer some or all of your questions. However, specific applications of the child custody laws need to be discussed with the attorney.
If you have a little legal background and are comfortable reading and interpreting legislation, the laws passed by the legislature in your state are most often available on the Internet. You can even go to your local library and find them.