How To Prepare A Trial For Custody?
One of the most sensitive and difficult issues to resolve during a divorce is the question of who will have custody of the children. Whether the spouses agree or not, it will be a Family Judge who has the last word. If the parents agree, everything is much easier. If not, the trial can be a very difficult time for the parents and also for the child.
To prepare for a custody trial, it is important to know what are the considerations that the judge will take into account to make his decision and what is the best option for the minor.
It is also essential to have the help of a good lawyer, a specialist in the matter, to help us understand each step. Here are some items to help us better prepare for a custody trial.
What happens to the children when the parents separate?
After the parents’ separation or divorce, the Family Judge must make a decision on the custody of the minor children. If there is an agreement between the parties, the judge will generally limit himself to ratifying the parents’ decision. You may not do so if you consider that there is a risk to minors.
If the parents have not been able to reach an agreement, a custody trial will be held. In that case, the judge must make decisions regarding the care of the minors. It will do so after listening to the parties, including the minor if he is mature enough and, if applicable, the Public Prosecutor.
The custody trial: joint custody
Under current legislation, joint custody may seem like the best solution for both children and parents after a divorce. In this type of custody, the time that minors spend with their mother and father is divided equally. Living expenses and parenting responsibility are equally shared.
However, joint custody can have many practical complications. For the little one, living a week here and another there can be a source of great instability. To avoid this problem, some couples choose to share the house. However, this option usually generate more conflicts between the couple food items, expenses, cleaning, etc. And this ends up having negative consequences for the child.
Cases in which joint custody is granted after a custody trial remain a minority in Spain. To grant it, the Judge will assess certain fundamental aspects, always having the highest good of the minor as the first objective. The first thing that will be taken into consideration will be the report of the psychosocial team of the Courts.
This report is usually made by a psychologist and a social worker after interviewing the parents and children, and observing the interaction of the minors with each parent. Although it is not binding, this report is usually decisive in the type of custody and the visitation regime that the Judge decides.
Custody of one of the parents
After the custody trial, the most common is that the judge grants custody to one of the parents and determines through a sentence the visitation regime and the obligations of the non-custodial parent. The first thing to take into account is the age of the minors and the situation of each of the parents.
In general, experts recommend that children under the age of six be with their main attachment figure for as long as possible. This figure can be the father or the mother, but it is necessary to avoid, as far as possible, that a small child passes from one to another.
In most cases, the Judge usually gives custody to one of the parents, usually the mother. It should be noted that whoever has custody should be very generous to facilitate the child’s relationship with the other parent as much as possible. This is usually best for the child’s emotional well-being.
To make this decision, the judge will consider the parent who exercised custody with the greatest intensity before the demand for separation or divorce, who is generally the mother. Lately there are more and more cases of joint custody or parents who obtain custody, but custody of the mother continues to be the majority.
