Far North Ohio Child Custody Lawyer

How Ohio Courts Decide Child Custody

Ohio law no longer uses the actual term “child custody.” Rather, a court is required to make an “allocation of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of the minor children.” This reflects a modern view of the law’s responsibility as ensuring both parents live up to their roles, as opposed to treating children like a piece of property to fight over.

There is no one controlling factor in allocation decisions. And contrary to what you might think, Ohio law does not automatically favor mothers over fathers in these cases. As always, the court must be guided by what is considered the best interests of the child. Some of the factors the court will weigh in making that determination include:

• The wishes of the parties, including the child if they are old enough to express them;
• Where each parent is currently living;
• The nature of the child’s relationship with each parent and other members of the family;
• How well the child is doing in school;
• Whether or not there is a history of neglect or abuse by either parent; and
• Each parent’s past history with respect to making child support payments and honoring visitation schedules.

Again, this is not an exhaustive list of factors. Every family’s situation is unique. This is where having an experienced child custody lawyer can prove invaluable in explaining the particular factors that are most relevant to a judge.

Ultimately, a court can decide to award sole or shared legal custody over child. With sole custody, one parent is given primary decision-making rights over major decisions affecting a child’s life, including whether they will live and attend school, as well as approving any necessary medical care. In some cases the judge may award joint custody, which gives both parents shared decision-making rights on these subjects.

Even when one parent receives sole custody, the non-custodial parent will still receive “parenting time” or visitation rights. A certain minimum amount of visitation is required by law unless there is proof that the child’s safety or well-being is at risk. But keep in mind, judges are hesitant to ever completely cut-off visitation rights, even in cases of domestic abuse. The more common practice in such cases is to allow supervised visitation, which means a third party must be present whenever the noncustodial parent spends time with the child.