Family Law

Effects of divorce on children

The ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage the parent-child relationship, to honor the time-sharing schedule, and to accept changes responsibly when necessary. The ability of each parent to act in the child’s needs, as opposed to their own. Geography of the parenting plan. Length of time the child has lived in a stable environment. The moral fitness of each parent.

The mental and physical condition of each parent Child’s preference if they are old enough. The ability of each parent to provide a consistent routine for the child Evidence that a parent has provided false information to the court History of domestic violence sexual violence, child abuse, or child neglect.

There is no denying that divorce is stressful for the married couple. It is more stressful for children. The effects of divorce manifest itself in issues. These include behavioral problems, learning disabilities, and emotional troubles. These include the short and long-term. Fortunately, children usually recover rapidly after divorce.

A high level of conflict between the parents hinders the recovery process. The court is aware of how traumatic parental separation is on children. The court believes that children need to maintain a relationship with both parents. In the case of volatile relationships, the courts may grant custody to one parent.

The Various Types of Child Custody

Sole Custody:

A parent with sole physical and legal custody has exclusive rights concerning the child. These custody arrangements are rare and are usually limited to situations in which one parent has been deemed unfit or incapable of having any form of responsibility for a child — for example, due to drug addiction or evidence of child abuse.

The benefit of solely physical and legal custody is that the child lives with you and you don’t need to consult with the other parent to make important decisions about the child’s life, such as educational, medical, and religious choices. Being granted sole custody does not impact the other parent’s right to visitation.

Legal Custody:

Most people understand what physical custody means, “Legal custody” gives a parent the right to make long-term decisions about the raising of a child, and key aspects of the child’s welfare — including the child’s education, medical care, dental care, and religious instruction. The child will physically live (visitation rights may be made for most noncustodial parents without physical custody). However, many do not realize that physical custody is not the only kind of child custody arrangement available. Legal custody covers major decision-making responsibilities affecting the children, including religious education, choice of schools, tutoring, cultural education, extracurricular activities, health care, and more.

Joint Custody:

One common type of joint custody is sharing both physical and legal custody. In these arrangements, the child will spend some portion of time living with each parent (physical custody), and the parents will cooperatively make decisions about the child’s upbringing and welfare, similar to when they were married (legal custody).

Physical Custody:

During a divorce, your state’s child custody laws come into play. A family court judge will determine various aspects of how the division of care for any children will be conducted. The parent who the court determines should have physical custody will be the parent that provides care for the child daily. That almost always means that the child will live with the parent that has physical custody.

Grandparent Custody:

Courts in every jurisdiction must consider the “best interests of the child” when granting custody or visitation rights to a grandparent. In some states, the relevant statute provides a list of factors the court should consider when determining a child’s best interests. Other states do not provide factors in the statute, but courts in those states typically identify factors in custody and visitation cases interpreting the state statutes.

Can the other parent take my babies from me?

The other parent has no right to take or keep your child away from you if you have sole physical custody. After court-ordered parenting time or visitation, the other parent must return your child or let you pick up your child.
If you have sole physical custody, it is not legal for the other parent to take your child from you. Sometimes taking your child from you is a crime, like “parental kidnapping.”

But if you are married, and there is no court order of custody, it is legal for the other parent to take your child.
The other parent has no right to take or keep your child away from you when your child is supposed to be with you if you have shared physical custody or court-ordered parenting time.
Also, the other parent does not have the right to take or keep your child outside of their parenting or visitation time without your permission.

If the other parent takes or keeps your child when they have no right to, you can:
1. Call the police.
2. Contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children file
3. Criminal charges file a complaint in the Probate and Family Court.
4. Contact the U.S. State Department if your child was taken abroad