Child Custody And Divorce: Free Legal Advice
Child Custody And Divorce: Free Legal Advice
Child Custody And Divorce: Free Legal Advice
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Continuing our discussion of the factors in the child custody statute (if for some reason you arrive at this page first, go back a couple of chapters and start at the beginning of the discussion), and, having done factors (a), (b), and (c), we are now at factors (d) and (e), which are related, but they are quite different factors.
(d) The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment, and the desirability of maintaining continuity.
(e) The permanence as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home or homes.
Both factors deal with the "living arrangements" if you will, of the child, but these factors address different aspects of those living arrangements. Good living arrangements will undoubtedly get you both factors scored in your column, and bad living arrangements will get both of these factors scored into the other party's column, or, you and the other party might each get one, a split score, if you will. Let's look at the factors in detail:
(d) The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment, and the desirability of maintaining continuity.
There are three questions, three issues, to be addresssed here, aren't there?
1. The length of time (NOT "Is it nice?", NOT "I intend to...", but the MEASURED LENGTH OF TIME) that the child has lived in a STABLE environment.
2. The length of time that the child has lived in a SATISFACTORY environment.
3. The desirability (if any) of maintaining continuity.
If child is with Mom, but now Mom is getting divorced from her new husband, and moving out-of-state, Dad can step in and win on this factor, IF DAD ALREADY HAS HIS PROPOSED "STABLE" ENVIRONMENT IN PLACE. "Judge, I recognize that the child has lived with Mom for four years, but Mom's moving to Utah, and the child should stay with me. She's got her own room, in our home that we've lived in for six years, she's got friends in the neighborhood, she attends the same school, takes the same bus, when she's living with me...."
and, be sure to add the "satisfactory" part, because "stable" can be different from "satisfactory", can't it? Yes, Dad's got the big house, yes, the whole damn place is "stable", but he beats the child...gimme a BREAK. Or, yes, Mom's is where the child has lived for five years, and her boyfriend is the same for the last five years, but the boyfriend is up on cocaine charges.....gimme ANOTHER break...
So we get to the third issue in this factor: Is there any desire to maintain continuity? The judge will be discussing it, wondering about it, making a decision with that specifically in mind, so you'd better, with your lawyer, be prepared to discuss it, intelligently.
And of course, that discussion relates to, but is different from (another factor, another point won or lost) to: (e) The permanence as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home or homes.
Which of these homes has a sense of "permanence" as a family unit? Does one party have boyfriends/girlfriends coming and going every six months? You're OUTTA here. You switch apartments every six months, usually leaving just ahead of the deputies coming to evict you? You're OUTTA here, you lose (on this factor). You've remarried, but your stepson keeps getting into trouble with the police, and he's in and out of juvenile hall, and sometimes he's living with you ? You've got problems.
But if you're remarried, several years ago, and bought a home, several years ago, and the child has his own room (which he's expected to keep clean) and there's a new baby (well, a year or so ago), and the little guy just LOVES playing with the baby [or his own horse, which he's expected to take care of], etc, etc, you can see that you're in a very strong position. What does the other side have to offer? Probably less.
Good luck with it.