Child Custody Information

In the matter of child visitation laws, the tenet that all states are moving towards is “what is in the child’s best interests?”

If the relationship between you and your ex spouse is particularly bitter, this can raise problems in the court, particularly if either of you are using the issue of visitation rights to use against the other parent, either by withholding access visits or interfering with visitations between one parent and the children.

When parents separate or divorce, the term “custody” often serves as shorthand for “who gets the children” under the divorce decree or judgment. In 20 states, custody is split into two types: physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody refers to the responsibility of taking care of the children, while legal custody involves making decisions that affect their interests (such as medical, educational and religious decisions). In states that don’t distinguish between physical and legal custody, the term “custody” implies both types of responsibilities.

Custody and visitation should not be confused with child support. Every parent has an obligation to support his or her children. When one parent has visitation rights (but not physical custody), he or she is usually ordered to pay some child support to the other parent. The parent with physical custody is deemed to meet the support obligation through the custody itself.

With one narrow exception, no state allows a parent to withhold visitation because the other parent owes support, or to withhold support because of disputes over visitation. The exception? If the custodial parent disappears for a lengthy period so that no visitation is possible, a few courts have ruled that the non-custodial parent’s duty to pay child support may be considered temporarily suspended.

All states and the District of Columbia have enacted a statute called the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, which sets standards for when a court may make a custody determination and when a court must defer to an existing determination from another state. Having the same law in all states helps standardize how custody decrees are treated. It also helps solve many problems created by kidnapping or disagreements over custody between parents living in different states.

In most states, it’s a crime to take a child from his or her parent with the intent to interfere with that parent’s physical custody of the child (even if the taker also has custody rights.) This crime commonly is referred to as “custodial interference.” In most states, the parent deprived of custody may sue the taker for damages, as well as getting help from the police to have the child returned.

If a parent without physical custody (who may or may not have visitation rights) removes a child from – or refuses to return a child to – the parent with physical custody, it is considered kidnapping or child concealment in addition to being custodial interference. Federal and state laws have been passed to prosecute and punish parents guilty of this type of kidnapping, which is a felony in over 40 states. In many states, interfering with a parent’s custody is a felony if the child is taken out-of-state. Many states, however, recognize good-cause defenses, such as where the taker acted to prevent imminent bodily harm to self or to the child. In addition, some states let a parent take a child out-of-state if the parent is requesting custody in court and has notified the court or police of the child’s location.

After a final decree of divorce is filed with a court, former spouses may agree to modify the custody or visitation terms. This modified agreement (also called a “stipulated modification”) may be made without court approval. If one person, however, later reneges on the agreement, the other person may not be able to enforce it unless the court has approved the modification. So it is generally advisable to obtain court approval before relying on such agreements. Courts usually approve modification agreements unless it appears that they are not in the best interests of the child. If a parent wants to change an existing court order affecting custody or visitation and the other parent won’t agree to the change, he or she must file a motion requesting a modification of the order from the court that issued it, usually on the ground of changed circumstances. Requiring a showing of changed circumstances encourages stability of arrangements and helps prevent the court from becoming overburdened with frequent and repetitive modification requests.

How do courts handle custody cases where the custodial parent has continually interfered with the custody and visitation rights of the noncustodial parent? For the latest child visitation laws for each and every state CLICK HERE. You will find all of the newest custody/visitation/support information that you need to know about YOUR STATE or ANY STATE!