What Are the Fathers Custodial Rights?
If you are anticipating or going through a custody battle with your spouse, you might be worried about what is going to happen. It is only natural to feel anxious. The courts in New York are ultimately going to determine the situation that keeps the child’s best interests in mind. A lot of fathers worry they will, by default, end up with the short end of the stick. That is not always the case. Here is what you need to know about the fathers custodial rights.
How Custody Gets Determined
The New York State courts define an order of custody as a responsibility to care for and maintain a child.
According to the courts in New York, the following are factors that will determine what is in the best interest of the child or children:
- What each parents’ strengths and weaknesses are
- How healthy mentally, and physically, each parent is
- Who the primary caregiver is going to be while the divorce is pending
- The work schedules of each parent
Sometimes the choice will be obvious. Maybe one parent has a work schedule that lines up with when the child is in school, makes more money, and is usually the one to take them to appointments and activities while the other parent does not have a stable income and perhaps suffers substance abuse.
Other times, the choice will be less obvious. Maybe the relationship with the child is just about equally between each parent and they could both provide them with a good living situation.
The fathers custodial rights are dependent on what they provide for the child. If you are the best fit for the child, then you will likely have custody or shared custody.
Custody Options
Depending on your situation, there are a few custody options that could happen.
Shared custody would be between two parents who have approximately equal contributions to the child’s life. Your child would reside with you part-time. This could be every other week, weekends, half the week, etc. If you and your ex can amicably determine a custody schedule for shared custody, it could vary.
Another type of custody is sole custody. Being granted sole custody of your child or children would mean that you have them living with you full time. Often when there is one parent with sole physical custody, that means that they have legal custody as well which means they make medical and academic decisions for the child.
You might be most worried about only being granted visitation with no legal rights to your child. This can be very concerning to fathers who will be going from living with the child to only seeing them once in a while.
Call Our Family Lawyer Today
If you want to learn more about fathers custodial rights and get prepared for the custody arrangements ahead of you, give our office a call right away. We are here to help guide you every step of the way through your case. You deserve to have a skilled and caring Rochester divorce attorney in your corner.
