What is emphasised in child custody cases?

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In child custody cases, we have actually changed the terminology and now use the term «parental disputes» instead. This reflects a change in focus from the children to the parents, emphasising that it is the parents who must agree.

When it comes to making decisions in such cases, great emphasis is placed on ensuring that the agreements made regarding the children are in the children's best interests. An important factor here is the care competency of each parent. This involves an assessment of the type of parents they are and the framework they can give the children in terms of finances, upbringing and values. In addition, the children's special care needs may affect which parent is best suited to look after them.

Such cases are very complex and individual, and the assessment of which parent the children should live with takes several factors into account. A common challenge is when one of the parents is struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues, as this will be thoroughly assessed in terms of how it affects the child and the parent's care situation.

Other factors that come into play include who lives in the children's school district, as this can ensure that the children maintain as similar an everyday life as possible as they had before. In other words, there are many considerations to take into account.