Statutes enumerate factors including each parent's relationship with the child, stability, the child's adjustment, parental cooperation, and any history of violence or substance abuse. Courts weigh factors without a fixed formula.
The child's preference carries weight at varying ages.
Alternative Names:
Best Interest Standard|Child's Best Interests
Why it Matters?
The discretionary weighting means appellate reversal is rare, since a trial court considering the statutory factors and articulating reasons is reviewed deferentially regardless of whether another judge would weigh them differently. Building a record on each enumerated factor is accordingly more productive than emphasizing one theme. Willingness to support the other parent's relationship is a factor courts weight heavily and litigants frequently undermine.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Why is appellate reversal rare?
Which factor do litigants undermine?
