Custody 101
Child Custody 101: Who Gets Custody?
In Pennsylvania, child custody is determined based upon what is in the best interest of the child/children. If the parents can’t agree on the best way to allocate custody, then the court will make a determination of what is in the best interest of the child/children and issue a court order spelling out the custody arrangement.
What Is In The Best Interest of the Child?
Typically, the court favors situations that maintain or increase the physical and mental health of the child/children. The court tries to maintain a healthy, stable environment for the child/children to grow. Many times, either one or both parent’s idea of what is in the best interest of the child/children may not coincide with the court’s conclusion. Some factors the court may consider include:
- Each parent’s access to child care
- The distance and travel time to school
- Each parent’s skills with child rearing
- Each parent’s current and past employment
- Housing
- Each parent’s existing relationship with the child/children
Court Orders:
A Court Order is often used to spell out each parent’s custody rights. The rights identified can include all or some of the following:The days of the week and hours that each party has custody, vacation allocation, holiday allocation, child drop-off and pick-up times and locations. This list is not exhaustive and conceivably any issue bearing on the custody rights of the parties can be spelled out in the Order.
Status Quo:
If the parents have an unwritten custody arrangement (i. e. no custody court order) then this custody arrangement is referred to as the Status Quo. Many times, the Status Quo is looked upon by the Courts as an unwritten Court Order and will be used as a guide when determining a custody arrangement.
Therefore, it is extremely important to understand that current and past arrangements can have a large effect in the future and it is best to settle for what custody you want up-front rather than later when it may harder to change the custody arrangement!
The Custody Process:
In Allegheny County, if the parents cannot agree on a custody arrangement, then they are required to proceed through the Generations Program. This program was set up to avoid costly and time consuming custody litigation. The first step in the Generations Program is that one of the parties must file a complaint for custody and serve it on (i. e. deliver it to) the other party. Both parties must pay a fee and then an Education Seminar is scheduled. Both parties must attend the session. After the session is completed, the parties proceed to a Mediation Session (without their attorneys present). At the Mediation Session, the parties attempt to negotiate a custody arrangement with the help of a mediator. If the negotiation fails, then the parties schedule and then attend a Conciliation Session with a conciliator (with their attorneys present). If the Conciliation Session fails to result in a custody agreement, then the parties schedule and then meet with the judge assigned to the case. The judge will attempt to settle the custody issue, but if this fails, the parties go to a Custody Trial and the issue is settled at a trial. This description of the custody process is not exhaustive and applies only to Allegheny County. Each County in Pennsylvania has a variation on this theme. It must be stressed that this is only a general description of the process and may vary based upon a number of factors.
How Much Time Will Take to Complete the Custody Process?
The time it takes to complete the custody process depends upon the willingness of the parents to negotiate a custody agreement. However, the Generations process (from the filing of a complaint through Conciliation) requires approximately 2-3 months to complete. This process can require more time depending upon any number of issues that may crop up including:violation of an existing custody agreement, change of residence by a party, change of employment by a party and special needs of the child/children.
One important concept to keep in mind is that a custody arrangement can always be modified if the modification is in the best interest of the child. A custody arrangement is never set in stone and can be modified up unto the child/children reach the age of eighteen years old or graduate from high school.
The Effect of a Custody Arrangement:
A custody arrangement has important effects!Child support and spousal support amounts are partially determined by the number of overnight periods that the child spends with a parent. Specifically, the parent with the majority of overnights will receive child support from the other parent. Again, this fact makes it doubly important to act quickly regarding child custody.