Navigating child custody can be a complicated, emotional process for everyone involved. Parents want what's best for their children, and they may disagree about what's best for their children. This can be about what school a child attends, how much time each parent spends with a child, or even a child's dentist or doctor.
While courts generally try to give both parents a role in their child's life, there are times when it's in a child's best interests for one parent to have sole custody. This question - what's in a child's best interests - is key in any custody case.
Even when parents have a good co-parenting relationship, having a formal custody agreement is beneficial to everyone involved. It minimizes issues down the road and creates stability for children. In cases when one parent stops following agreed-upon custody terms, the other parent has a legal basis for challenging their failure to follow the agreement.
If your child lives in McKean County, the LLF Law Firm Family Law Team can help you with custody disputes. We work with parents and families in McKean County and throughout Pennsylvania to find resolutions to custody disputes. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out our online form .
Who Can File for Custody in McKean County?
In Pennsylvania, it's the county where a child resides, not where a parent resides, that determines where to file for custody. Filing for custody doesn't require a parent to currently live with or to have ever lived with their child.
In Pennsylvania, a child's county of residence means a child has lived in that county for at least six months. In cases when parents are unsure of a child's home county – such as when parents live in different counties and already split custody – the LLF Law Firm Family Law Team can help parents determine where to file.
How Do I File for Custody in McKean County?
Once you've established that your child's home county is McKean County, the next step is to file for custody in that county. While filing for custody is standard in divorce cases, there are other situations when a parent will want to consider filing for custody.
Parents - and, in some situations, other adults - may want to file for custody when:
- They're concerned that a parent plans to take the child out of the area with no plan to return
- A parent often fails to drop off or pick up a child at agreed-upon times or locations
- A parent requires legal proof for activities such as school enrollment, health insurance, or Social Security or welfare benefits.
- A parent prevents or otherwise restricts a child's ability to see their other parent.
- In situations when a parent does not currently live with a child but wants the child to live with them
- If one parent makes major life decisions about for a child, such as health care or a child's religion, without consulting the other parent or by ignoring the other parent's preferences
This is not a complete list of why parents may choose to file for custody. Even when parents currently agree on custody, establishing a formal custody agreement can be beneficial to the child and long-term successful co-parenting.
In McKean County, the general steps for a custody case are:
- Filing
- Preliminary conference
- Mediation
- Standard custody hearing before the Court of Common Pleas
- Expanded custody hearing
Parents don't have to go through the entire custody process. They can reach an agreement at any point. One thing to keep in mind is that once a custody dispute reaches the hearing stage, it's the judge and not the parents who decide on custody.
What Are the Types of Child Custody?
Child custody has two components: physical and legal. As part of Pennsylvania's policy that a child should have a relationship with both parents when possible, the default position in the state is that, when possible, parents share physical and legal custody.
Physical custody involves the day-to-day care of a child. Food and shelter, supporting a child's daily routine, and getting them to school, appointments, and activities are just some of the responsibilities involved in physical custody. It also means that a parent safeguards a child's health and well-being.
Pennsylvania has the following types of physical custody:
- Shared physical custody
- Primary physical custody
- Partial physical custody
- Sole physical custody
Legal custody, in comparison, focuses on the decisions that parents make about raising a child. Choosing a child's school, what religion a child practices, and medical decisions, such as whether to vaccinate a child, all fall under legal custody.
Pennsylvania has the following types of legal custody:
- Shared legal custody
- Sole legal custody
Parents who have joint or shared custody both have a role in a child's life, whether that be caring for them on a daily basis or deciding what school they'll attend. When one parent has sole custody, that parent alone is responsible for making decisions or caring for a child. Primary and partial custody are similar to joint physical custody, except one parent has the children for the majority of the time.
Physical and legal custody don't have to be the same. For example, one parent may have sole legal custody while the parents both have physical custody, or one parent may have sole physical custody while they share legal custody.
Supervised Physical Custody
In some situations, a parent isn't in a position to have physical custody. They may still see their child and be able to spend time together through supervised physical custody, which is often referred to as visitation. Supervised physical custody involves a parent and child spending time together with a court-appointed third party.
What Factors Are Considered for Deciding Child Custody in McKean County?
McKean County encourages all parents to approach each other with a positive and cooperative attitude. Trying to prevent or limit a child's relationship or time with their other parent can work against a parent. Parents who don't block or sabotage their child's relationship with their other parent are more likely to receive a favorable custody order compared to those who attempt to undermine the other parent's relationship with their child.
The central question in custody cases is: What's in a child's best interests? What's convenient for parents and what parents think is best for a child are less important than what evidence shows is best for a child.
In general, courts view it as in a child's best interests to have a relationship with both parents. In situations when a parent is unable to care for a child, parents may have visitation with a child to allow the parent-child bond to grow.
Parents should remember that finances don't enter into custody decisions. That one parent has more money doesn't mean they're entitled to their preferred custody agreement. That a parent has money doesn't mean what they want is automatically best for a child. Finances are a separate issue and are resolved via child support, not child custody.
Judges will consider a broad array of evidence to get a full picture of a child's current life. While Pennsylvania provides a list of factors for determining child custody, these aren't required parts of a custody hearing. Judges may use some or none of these factors while also allowing information that's not related to the list of factors.
Some of the factors judges may consider:
- Each parent's established relationship with and involvement in a child's life
- A child's need for stability and continuity
- If either parent or a member of that parent's household has committed or has a history of abuse
- If yes, is a child's health or safety at risk because of that abuse?
- Whether a parent either has or will be able to provide an environment that meets a child's needs
- If a parent either has or will be able to support a child's daily needs
- If a parent can either care for a child or arrange for appropriate childcare
- A child's relationship with extended family
Emergency Orders
An immediate decision on custody may need to be made if there's an imminent risk to a child's health and safety is in danger. In these cases, parents or other adults can file an “Emergency Petition for Special Relief,” which results in an emergency hearing to determine custody. The purpose of emergency orders is to remove children from dangerous or unsafe situations as soon as possible.
Grandparents and In Loco Parentis
If a parent is dead or otherwise unable to care for a child, grandparents, aunts or uncles, or other adults can file for custody. When a non-parent wants to assume custody, they need to prove that :
- They're able to take on responsibility for the child's care
- They have a sustained, substantial, and sincere interest in the child's well-being
Non-parent custody can be complicated to navigate. If you're a grandparent or other adult who wants to assume custody of a child, contact the LLF Law Firm Family Law Team.
Can I Modify An Existing Custody Order in McKean County?
Custody orders aren't set in stone. Parents can request modifications to custody orders to reflect changes in their lives or in a child's life or schedule.
Even when both parents agree to modifications of a custody agreement, they should still formally amend the order. Updating the custody order can smooth any disagreements and give both parents grounds for challenging violations of custody.
If you need to alter your custody agreement, the LLF Law Firm Family Law Team can help.
Custody, Abuse, and Crime
Parents can have custody, including physical custody, even if they or a member of their household has a criminal record. This is also the case when a parent or member of the parent's household has a history of domestic abuse.
A criminal record or history of domestic violence doesn't automatically mean a child is unsafe in a home. How courts may consider a criminal record or domestic violence is whether it puts a child's health or safety at risk.
That a parent abused a child's other parent also doesn't bar a parent from custody. If courts find a child being with a parent doesn't risk their health or safety, that parent can still have custody.
If you, your spouse, or a member of either of your households has a criminal record, contact the LLF Law Firm Family Law Team.
Does McKean County Require a Parenting Plan as Part of a Custody Order?
Pennsylvania doesn't require parents to complete a parenting plan, and judges decide when parents and children would benefit from having a parenting plan. In addition, while not required by law, judges can require parents to complete a parenting plan.
McKean County does provide a guide for parenting plans .
What Happens When a Parent Violates a Custody Order in McKean County?
Parents do not have to simply accept their child's other parent's failure to abide by a custody order. They can file a Petition for Contempt of Court.
If there's reason to believe a parent is a threat to a child's health or safety, parents or other adults may want to file for an emergency custody order.
Parents who violate custody orders don't simply inconvenience the other parent. They can be detrimentally affecting their child, and the LLF Law Firm Family Law Team can help parents address violations and plot a path forward.
Be Honest
Parents need to tell the truth during the custody process. While exaggerating or putting a creative twist on the truth may seem the best way to get a favorable custody order, what can instead happen is these misstatements and mistruths can hurt a parent.
Parents should focus on what's best for their child rather than on what they want or scoring points against the other parent. The LLF Law Firm Family Law Team helps our clients build evidence-based cases.
What is Special Relief in McKean County?
A short-term, temporary custody order , or special relief helps to provide stability to children. After filing for custody, parents may be granted special relief at any point.
Special relief can also benefit both parents, such as giving both parents temporary legal or physical custody. It can also be used to prevent parents from taking a child out of Pennsylvania.
Special relief isn't a required part of the custody process. Judges decide when they want to grant relief.
Custody Versus Support
Custody refers to the daily care of a child and making decisions for their lives. Separate from that is child support, which focuses on parents' finances and whether parents will pay the other parent to help level the playing field.
Parents' financial positions don't matter when awarding custody. They do matter for child support.
If you live in McKean County and need help with child custody or child support, the LLF Law Firm Family Law Team can help.
Find a Solution
Parents want what's best for their children, which is good. Custody disputes, however, are already stressful. The LLF Law Firm Family Law Team helps parents and guardians in McKean County and throughout Pennsylvania understand the child custody process. We help our clients make informed decisions that are best for their families. Our goal in all child custody cases is to help our clients protect their child's best interests. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out our online form.
