“BEST INTEREST OF CHILDREN” STANDARD FOR MODIFICATION

When deciding whether or not a change of a Child Custody Order is in the child’s best interest, the courts have a great deal of leeway to exercise their discretion. A variety of factors can have an effect on what is in the child’s best interest, and these considerations can generally be broken down into three categories:

1) Concern for the Wellbeing of Children

2) Fostering Healthy Relationships Within the Family, and

3) Parental Fitness

A skilled child custody modification attorney would, with regard to each of these categories, assess a variety of areas that could offer their client with an edge in court and work to obtain evidence supporting these areas.

Quality Care of the Child

When determining which parent is better equipped to care for the child, the court will typically take into account factors such as the child’s physical and emotional needs as well as the capacity of each parent to shield the child from physical and emotional harm. The court would undoubtedly give preference to the parent who is in a better position to provide for the child in the aforementioned areas. For example, which parent has more financial resources or the shown capacity to establish structure, boundaries, and discipline the child in a reasonable manner should be considered. In addition, the court will be interested in any earlier behavior of a parent that was either proven to be physically dangerous to the child or emotionally dangerous to the child. This behavior could have occurred at any point in the child’s life.

Within this same category, the court will assess the steadiness of the houses, the parenting skills of each parent, as well as each parent’s established track record for their capability to be the Primary Caregiver of the child.

Maintaining Family Bonds

In this category, proof can come in the form of things like the following:

• The Preferences of the Child;
• Geographical Proximity of the Parties and the Distances Between Schools, After-School Activities, Health Care Providers, and Other Everyday Concerns;
• The impact that the change may have on the relationship between siblings, such as in the case where parental responsibilities are going to be split between them;
• The degree to which each party supports and acknowledges the existence of healthy relationships between the parties’ respective parents.
• Parental Fitness

The court will then deliberate on the appropriateness of the parents’ parenting. Evidence to support or attack a parent’s character is extremely broad, similar to the other categories, with the exception of bad behavior that occurred either (1) before the birth of the children involved in the case or (2) before the entry of the most recent Child Custody Order. In this case, the evidence to support or attack a parent’s character is limited to what has happened since the birth of the first child or if a child custody order is in place, it is limited to what has occurred since the date of the custody order. In addition, there are a few considerations that the court is expressly forbidden from taking into account under any circumstances.

Evidence that will be considered by the court:

• Condition of a Parent at the Present Time;
• Recent Past Behavior, either positive or negative, exhibited by a parent;
• Abuse of Alcohol or Other Substances
• Sexual Conduct. However, the court has decided that a party’s sexual conduct is only significant if the child was exposed to it or had access to evidence of the conduct. This is because the court believes that the youngster is more likely to have accurate memories of the event. In addition, the courts have clearly ruled that heterosexual and gay behaviors should be treated in the same manner.

The court is not permitted to take into consideration the following facts:

• A party’s current or past marital status. Therefore, the court is not to take into account whether a party is married, single, or divorced while making a decision. On the other hand, the court has the discretion to take into account the health of each parent’s marriage;
• Whether or not a child is male or female. According to the rules, the judge is not allowed to take into account the gender of either party or the kid. There is no longer a presumption that the mother is the superior parent to raise a child, according to a decision that was made in the past by a court in Houston. In spite of this, it would appear that there is still some bias against mothers, particularly in more politically conservative small counties; nevertheless, this bias is a far cry from what it used to be.
• Race.
• Religion. In the context of determining child custody, an individual’s “unusual, abnormal, religious beliefs” are not appropriate factors to take into account. On the other hand, this evidence may be taken into consideration if the views in question violate the law, are immoral, or cause harm.

For Further Information Regarding Your Capability to Modify Your Child Custody Order in the Counties of Collin, Denton, Dallas, as well as the Surrounding Counties, Contact our experienced Child Custody Modification Attorneys at Ridgely Davis Law to speak with an experienced and trusted Texas child custody modification attorneys in Frisco, TX  to devise a plan to defend your parental rights.