Divorce Custody Issues

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During the discussion about child custody, when the parenting plan is drafted the following issues are considered.

• Life insurance
• Mental health care
• Dental and medical insurance
• Education and college expenditure
• Visitation schedule (holidays, summers, midweek visits, overnights, special events)
• Religious training
• Child care - instructions regarding pick up and drop off
• If a child drives, then the car insurance
• Tax deductions
• Access to the records of the child
• Transportation
• If parents reside in different communities, how does the child move?
• Activities of the children
• Child's contact with extended family
• Parenting education

Physical Custody

• The child resides and spends his/her time with the parent who has been awarded physical custody
• This parent is in charge of the activities of the child
• The court might grant physical custody solely to one parent and approve or deny visitation rights to the non custodial parent
• Sometimes this type of custody is shared between the parents

• The parent who has been granted legal custody has the responsibility and right to make major decisions that impact the life of the child
• Some of the topics regarding which decisions are taken are as follows
  • Religion
  • Emergency care
  • Health care
  • Day care
  • Extra curricular activities
  • Education

Let us assume that one of the parents has been awarded sole or primary custody of the child. In this scenario, the other parent might be ordered to disburse child support. The amount of child support is dependent on several factors like the following.

• The actual or potential earning capacity of each parent
• The number of children the couple has
• Tax filing status
• Expenditures pertaining to the child

The Best Interests of the Child

Each state in the United States tries to protect the best interests of the child while issuing orders of child custody. For this to happen, it takes into account several custody issues. Every state has prepared its own list of custody issues in case of divorce. Some of the common issues are as follows.

• The stability, physical state and mental health of all the persons related to the custody case
• The adjustment of the child in the community, at school and in the house
• The interaction of the child with his/her siblings as well as both the parents
• The desires of the child (usually, the court determines whether the child is sufficiently mature and capable of making a preference)
• The desires of the parents (while considering these, it is assumed that the parents are fit)

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