One of the biggest fears most parents have when they split up is losing custody of their kids, but family law judges generally aim to keep both parents involved in their kids’ lives as much as possible. Custody plans usually reflect a fair split.
Certain situations, however, may warrant the judge honoring a mom or dad’s parenting plan modification request. You should understand more about those instances so that you can better determine if you may have a valid case for petitioning a judge for a custody modification.
Factors that warrant custody modifications
Family law judges expect parents to respect each other’s access rights to their kids. The court may limit or deprive a mom or dad of their custodial rights if they’re unreliable in turning over their kids at the agreed-to times or one parent continually interferes with the other’s parenting time.
Judges may also deprive a parent of custody if they become aware of potential abuse in their home. Most courts consider parental alienation, or purposely pitting a child against one of their parents, as a form of abuse.
One parent must generally provide the other with ample notice of their plans to relocate with their child. A judge may deprive a parent of custody if they move without first getting the other’s consent to do so.
Judges may also take away a parent’s custodial rights to their child if they learn that a mom or dad’s home is unhygienic or unsafe. The court may do the same if they determine that the food that a parent fees a child is nutritionally unbalanced or that they’ve developed a substance abuse problem.
Why you need to advocate for your kids
It’s our role as parents to give our children every possible opportunity to be the best that they can be. Having them grow up in an unsafe, disrespectful, or any other unproductive environment can set the foundation for a lifetime of problems for your child.
An attorney can help you justify to a Cranberry Township judge why taking away your ex’s custodial rights is in the best interests of your Pennsylvania child.
