• Home
  • About Us
    • Overview
    • Professionals
    • Publications
    • Join our Team
  • Practice Areas
    • Consumer Law & Contracts
    • Landlord & Tenant
    • Defamation
    • Family Law
    • Criminal Defense & Traffic
    • H-1B Visas
    • Estate Planning
    • Animal Law
    • Small Business
    • Zoning
  • Getting Started
  • Case Study
  • Blog
  • Media
    • SKL in the News
    • Eve Minter
  • Contact

How do Virginia Courts Determine Child Custody?

7/25/2014

0 Comments

 
By: Lloyd Jeong

When deciding which parent (or other person) is granted custody of the child, the Virginia courts determine what is in the “best interests of the child.”  To make this determination, the courts consider ten factors as listed in Virginia Code § 20-124.3:

  1. The age and physical and mental condition of the child, giving due consideration to the child's changing developmental needs; 
  2. The age and physical and mental condition of each parent; 
  3. The relationship existing between each parent and each child, giving due consideration to the positive involvement with the child's life, the ability to accurately assess and meet the emotional, intellectual and physical needs of the child; 
  4. The needs of the child, giving due consideration to other important relationships of the child, including but not limited to siblings, peers and extended family members;
  5. The role that each parent has played and will play in the future, in the upbringing and care of the child; 
  6. The propensity of each parent to actively support the child's contact and relationship with the other parent, including whether a parent has unreasonably denied the other parent access to or visitation with the child; 
  7. The relative willingness and demonstrated ability of each parent to maintain a close and continuing relationship with the child, and the ability of each parent to cooperate in and resolve disputes regarding matters affecting the child; 
  8. The reasonable preference of the child, if the court deems the child to be of reasonable intelligence, understanding, age and experience to express such a preference; 
  9. Any history of family abuse as that term is defined in § 16.1-228 or sexual abuse. If the court finds such a history, the court may disregard the factors in subdivision 6; and 
  10. Such other factors as the court deems necessary and proper to the determination. 

No one factor is decisive by itself.  Courts will consider all of the factors above and weigh them against each other before making a final decision.  For example, if there is a custody dispute between a wealthy parent who has a history of domestic violence and a less affluent parent, the court may decide to grant custody to the parent with less financial resources after weighing all ten of the factors.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Steven and guests (lawyers and non-lawyers) will periodically post about topics relevant to his firm and practice areas. Your comments and feedback are always welcome. 

    Archives

    September 2020
    June 2020
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    June 2018
    April 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    January 2016
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Categories

    All
    Business Entity
    Child Support
    Consumer Law
    Criminal Law
    Custody
    Debt Collection
    Defamation
    Employment Law
    Evidence
    Family Law
    H-1B
    Immigration
    Intellectual Property
    Landlord & Tenant
    Legal Malpractice
    Legal Theory
    Litigation
    Low Bono
    Plain English Guide
    Pro Se
    Spousal Support
    Visitation

    RSS Feed

    Legal Disclaimer

    The blog postings and information on this site are provided for informational purposes only and is only meant to provide a general overview or description of the law and may not reflect current legal developments, verdicts or settlements.  It is not, nor is it intended to be, specific legal advice, which requires an analysis based on the specific factors unique to each case.  Therefore, do not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included on this site without seeking a confidential consultation from a knowledgeable attorney.

    By accessing this site you acknowledge that this information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship, is not intended to constitute legal advice, and Steven Krieger Law, PLLC expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any of the contents of this website.

Consumer Protection Law & Contracts
Landlord & Tenant
Defamation &  Fraud
Family Law
Criminal/Traffic
​Animal Law
​Estate Planning
H-1B Visa Wage Disputes
Small Business
Zoning
Steven Krieger Law, PLLC
2200 Wilson Blvd. Suite 102
Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: 703.831.7707
Fax: 
571.512.5814​
steven@stevenkriegerlaw.com
Legal Disclaimer & Terms of Use
​
Click to set custom HTML
© Copyright 2013-21 Steven Krieger Law, PLLC