Custody

One of the most difficult problems in many divorces is determining custody of the children. Parents should know their legal rights and responsibilities when deciding who will take care of the children. However, this is not easy, since there have been many changes in custody arrangements through the years. A hundred years ago in the United States, the father always received custody. Later, custody was most often given to the mother, because the mother was considered the more important caregiver. At the present time, while custody is still usually awarded to the mother, more and more fathers are asking for and receiving custody.

The judges in a court look at each parent’s personality and caregiving ability in order to determine who can best take care of the children. Usually, custody arrangement can be worked out in a friendly way, but sometimes there are bitter battles over custody and even the kidnapping of a child by the parent who wasn’t award custody. Too often these battles do great harm to the children the court is trying to protect, so courts and family counseling services have begun to use mediation to help families make the best decision for the children.