In making orders concerning custody and visitation, a judge must consider the best interests of the child. But what does “best interests” mean?
Connecticut General Statutes sets forth the following factors:
- The temperament and developmental needs of the child;
- The capacity and the disposition of the parents to understand and meet the needs of the child;
- Any relevant and material information obtained from the child, including the informed preferences of the child;
- The wishes of the child’s parents as to custody;
- The past and current interaction and relationship of the child with each parent, the child’s siblings and any other person who may significantly affect the best interests of the child;
- The willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage such continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent as is appropriate, including compliance with any court orders;
- Any manipulation by or coercive behavior of the parents in an effort to involve the child in the parents’ dispute;
- The ability of each parent to be actively involved in the life of the child;
- The child’s adjustment to his or her home, school and community environments;
- The length of time that the child has lived in a stable and satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity in such environment, provided the court may consider favorably a parent who voluntarily leaves the child’s family home pendente lite in order to alleviate stress in the household;
- The stability of the child’s existing or proposed residences, or both;
- The mental and physical health of all individuals involved, except that a disability of a proposed custodial parent or other party, in and of itself, shall not be determinative of custody unless the proposed custodial arrangement is not in the best interests of the child;
- The child’s cultural background;
- The effect on the child of the actions of an abuser, if any domestic violence has occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual or the child;
- Whether the child or a sibling of the child has been abused or neglected, as defined respectively in section 46b-120; and
- Whether the party satisfactorily completed participation in a parenting education program established pursuant to section 46b-69b.
A few notes.
A judge may also consider other unique circumstances that are not on this list.
The factors do not have to be weighed equally – some will simply be more or less important depending on the particular the case. A custody dispute involving a 15 year old is fundamentally different from that involving a toddler.
Finally, the presence of true parental alienation is often weighed very heavily against the “offending” parent.