Divorce Father Custody

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The legal assumptions pertaining to child custody for fathers have witnessed several ups and downs in history. Prior to the 20^th century, a child was considered as the property of his/her father. As per common law, child custody was usually granted to the father. Further, when family courts were established, they began to prefer mothers for child custody. It was assumed that when the circumstances were normal, it was in the interest of the child to award sole custody to the mother.

Factors that decide Divorce Father Custody

• The family court takes into account the testimony of the child. However, if the child is very young, special discretion is used
• The court appoints a psychologist, who evaluates the child custody case and drafts a testimony
• The psychologist makes a recommendation to the court after due consideration of the following points
  • Personal behaviors of the child and the parents
  • The time available to each parent for raising the child
  • The stability of the household
  • Past parenting history
  • Past incidences of neglect or abuse
  • Any other relevant factors

It is an open secret that the system is unfair to fathers in child custody cases. However, each father must understand that simply becoming angry or complaining about the system is of no use. Fathers are advised to make use of the below mentioned points.

• A father must select an attorney who has a specialization in child custody
• A father must find out the techniques and strategies that mothers employ to win custody. Then, he must think how to utilize these to his advantage
• A father must collect data on why and how he can offer the child a more stable home atmosphere
• A father must be mentally ready for an ugly battle over the custody

Some fathers chalk out the following plan - 'Let the mother be awarded full custody at present. After a couple of years pass by, I can apply for split custody.'

The above plan rarely becomes successful. The reality is as follows - When a court works out an original custody plan, the court becomes very reluctant to alter it in future. The reasons are that the court feels it would perturb the child and remove him/her from a stable home atmosphere. As a consequence, every successive child custody battle is increasingly harder for the father to win.

In the recent past, lawmakers and experts have concluded that custody for fathers is a worthwhile decision. The legal system realized that the child was in an optimum situation if it was in contact with both parents. As a result, joint custody for fathers and mothers gained importance. In about 20 percent of the cases, this sort of custody is awarded.

In joint custody, a parenting plan is drafted. This comprises of the following.

• Whom the child would reside with?
• Which parent would make the major decisions that impact the child?
• Where the child would spend the summers, holidays and weekends?
• Any other physical and legal custody issues

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