A court will determine which parent is to have custody over a child when parents are unable to reach an agreement on this issue. In making such a determination, the court must base its decision on what it believes is in the “best interest” of the child. This is known as the best interest standard, and in general refers to a number of factors that the court will consider before deciding what will best serve the child and who is best suited to take care of the child. In New York, the child’s health and safety are of primary concern to the court. However, the court considers many other factors, including:
- Which parent has been the main care giver/nurturer of the child
- The parenting skills of each parent,their strengths and weaknesses and their ability to provides for the child’s special needs, if any
- The mental and physical health of the parties
- Whether there has been domestic violence in the family
- Work schedules and child care (babysitting) plans of each parent
- The child’s relationship with siblings or other family members
- The child’s wishes (if the child is deemed to be of sufficient age and maturity for such wishes to be given weight)
- Each parent’s ability to cooperate with the other, and to encourage a relationship with one another
A custody determination by the court is referred to as an “Order of Custody”.