Deciding which parent your child is going to live with can be difficult during a divorce. Both parents are used to seeing their children on a daily basis and want to be involved in their lives. Even if you and your partner agree on where your child should live, child custody in Wichita, KS still needs to be legally written. The courts always look at the child’s best interests when custody is awarded to one parent or another. The best interest of the child involves the court’s decision on which parent will permit the children to foster a relationship with the other parent and whose home offers a more stable environment for the children and many other aspescts.
Joint custody means that both parents have power in the decision making process of raising their children. Joint custody does not mean that the child lives with each parent’s home equally. The child will live with one parent and have extended time with the other parent including weekends, holidays, overnights during the week and extended summer vacation. Divided custody is when your child will leave with each of you the same amount of time. This type of arrangement only works when the parents are very cooperative with one another and live very close to each other. Sole custody is when the child lives with one parent and that parent makes all of the decisions for the child. The parent the child doesn’t live with can have visitation with the child. This is done in extenuating circumstances when a parent is unfit due to criminal activity, prison or mental incapacitation.
It is important for child custody in Wichita, KS to be written for the children as well as the parents for medical, financial and school issues. Child support is usually paid to the parent with custody of the child and without the written child custody order, obtaining the support may be difficult. If one parent refuses to return the children to the other parent, a written custody order from the court can have your child returned to you.
