Houston Child Custody

Some parents are able to decide on their own child custody arrangements. Divorce proceedings can become complicated when child custody agreements cannot be reached and a judge will be the decider of who the primary custodial parent will be. When Houston child custody matters are involved, it is imperative to find a Houston divorce lawyer that has experience and reputation for success.

In the U.S., divorce is a part of life for 1.5 million children a year. Just 69 percent of children are currently living with married parents, a decrease from the 85 percent of children living with parents in 1970. After money, children are the number two thing married couples argue about.

If a couple has decided to split, some parents will be able to decide who will be the primary caretaker of the children, but a judge will have a temporary hearing in instances that they cannot. The temporary hearing will decide who the primary custodial parent will be during the divorce proceedings, including issues of child support. The majority of temporary hearings will decide the Houston child custody will be joint custody.

Temporary hearings will allow for visitation schedules for both parents to be made in order to best preserve the family unit and disrupt the children's lives as little as possible. Houston child custody matters have the children's best interests in mind and a Houston divorce lawyer will make sure this occurs. A judge will make a final trial date to decide Houston child custody if the parents have been unable to reach a final agreement. With Houston family law, the judge will always decide in the best interests of the children, which should be the priority of Houston child custody situations.

Based on statistics, children living with divorced or unwed single parent are more likely than other kids to fall into poverty, sickness, and crime. Houston divorce lawyers have specialized in all aspects of family law, making it important to locate the attorney with proven success. Over the years, the changes made in family law have been blamed for destroying families, but a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that when California passed a no-fault divorce law in 1970 the divorce rate jumped but then later fell back to its old level and ended up falling even below that.

This pattern was also found to occur in other states that loosened their laws as well, and favorable trends also were found to happen alongside it. Fewer women committed suicide and husbands or other intimate partners murdered fewer women. In addition, there was a decrease in domestic violence for both men and women compared with states that had the stricter divorce laws.

The ability to create a more equal balance of power because of changes in divorce laws are positive, but the need to protect children from the challenges created because of broken homes must continue to be a priority. Some states have been passing new divorce laws in response to the negative effect divorce can have on children, especially when messy child custody battles occur. As times change, family laws will change and Houston child custody lawyers will continue to challenge the system in order create the best scenario for families as possible.

Houston child custody factors will include stability of each divorcing spouse, past caretaking duties of the children, financial qualifications of each parent to properly care for the children, and ways of minimizing disruptive changes in the children's lives, such as relocation and moving around. A Houston divorce lawyer will question you immediately during the initial consultation about your direct involvement with the children and daily caretaking duties. It might be natural for a parent to want to inflate these responsibilities in hopes of gaining the edge in a Houston child custody battle, but it is important to be honest and allow the Houston divorce lawyer to do his/her job in preserving the best intentions for the children.