How does the court determine what is in the best interest of my children in a child custody case?
The court examines a number of factors, including who the children are living with at the time the custody determination is made, the children's historical relationship with each of the parents, and each parent's ability to care for the children.

What are the different types of child custody?
Child custody can be broken down into three separate categories:

• Temporary Custody - custody is assigned temporarily to one parent while permanent custody arrangements are being made.
• Legal Custody - separated into both sole legal custody and joint legal custody,
  • Sole legal custody - when only one parent holds the right to make legal decisions for the child.
  • Joint legal custody - when both parents hold the right to make legal decisions for the child.
• Physical Custody - separated into both sole physical custody and joint physical custody,
  • Sole physical custody - when the child lives with one parent and the other has specific visitation rights.
  • Joint physical custody - when a child is able to reside with each parent for a substantial amount of time during the course of a calendar year.

My husband and I are separated, and he moved to another state. He has filed for divorce and custody in his state. What do I do? 
You should immediately contact a qualified family lawyer at Haas McNeil & Associates to discuss your situation. If you and your child resided in your state for the past six months, your state would normally have “home state” jurisdiction to issue a custody order. You may need to contest the custody action in his state, although it is possible that his state can still order a divorce - a termination of the legal relationship between the two of you.

What factors do courts take into account when deciding who gets custody of the children?
A court gives the "best interests of the child" the highest priority when deciding custody issues. What the best interests of a child are in a given situation depends upon many factors, including:

• the child's age, gender, mental and physical health
• the mental and physical health of the parents
• the lifestyle and other social factors of the parents, including whether the child is exposed to second-hand smoke and whether there is any history of child abuse
• the love and emotional ties between the parent and the child
• the parent's ability to provide the child with food, shelter, clothing and medical care
• the child's established living pattern (school, home, community, religious institution)
• the quality of the schools attended by the children
• the child's preference, if the child is above a certain age (usually about 12), and
• the ability and willingness of the parent to foster healthy communication and contact between the child and the other parent.

Are mothers more likely to be awarded custody over fathers?
In the past, most states provided that custody of children of "tender years" (five and under) had to be awarded to the mother when parents divorced. This rule has been rejected in most states. No state requires that a child be awarded to the mother without regard to the fitness of both parents. Most states require their courts to determine custody based on what's in the children's best interests without regard to the sex of the parent. See the above question to find out how courts determine what is in a child’s best interest.