Child Custody

Children are innocent victims of divorce and their care and well-being should be of primary concern when their parents go their separate ways.

The paramount concern in a child custody case is the best interests of the child, based on a consideration of all factors that legitimately affect the child’s physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual well-being.

Some of the factors for determining child custody include:

• Which party is more likely to encourage and permit frequent and continuing contact between the child and another party.
• The present and past abuse committed by a party or member of the party’s household, whether there is a continued risk of harm to the child or an abused party and which party can better provide adequate physical safeguards and supervision of the child.
• Information relating to consideration of child abuse and involvement with protective services.
• The parental duties performed by each party on behalf of the child.
• The need for stability and continuity in the child’s education, family life and community life.
• The availability of extended family.
• The child’s sibling relationships.
• The well-reasoned preference of the child, based on the child’s maturity and judgment.
• The attempts of a parent to turn the child against the other parent, except in cases of domestic violence where reasonable safety measures are necessary to protect the child from harm.
• Which party is more likely to maintain a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the child adequate for the child’s emotional needs.
• Which party is more likely to attend to the daily physical, emotional, developmental, educational and special needs of the child.
• The proximity of the residences of the parties.
• Each party’s availability to care for the child or ability to make appropriate child-care arrangements.
• The level of conflict between the parties and the willingness and ability of the parties to cooperate with one another. A party’s effort to protect a child from abuse by another party is not evidence of unwillingness or inability to cooperate with that party.
• The history of drug or alcohol abuse of a party or member of a party’s household.
• The mental and physical condition of a party or member of a party’s household.
• Any other relevant factor.

23 Pa. C.S.A. § 5328

Stress levels and complications in the divorce process are heightened when child custody is involved. An experienced child support attorney at Elite Divorce Lawyer will fight for you to ensure the best possible outcome when the court determines custody of your children.