Some Common – and Surprising – Ways Parents Lose Child Custody
There are a countless number of situations or reasons “why” a parent might lose custody of their child. No single article could detail each scenario, but there are some broader ideas and rules in play that you can learn more about and understand. In most cases the courts and the parents involved want both parents to have a significant role in the child’s life – but, unfortunately, that is not always the case.
Common Reasons Parents Lose Custody
As touched on above, no one could iterate every circumstance or situation which could lead to a parent losing custody. “Losing custody” generally refers to the loss of joint legal and/or physical custody of a child. Visitation could also become limited, or limited to supervised visitation. Some common reasons for the decision to take away custody rights include:
- Physical abuse;
- Neglect;
- Violating court orders; and or
- Abduction
Below, we will cover these issues in more depth.
Physical Abuse
The California family court rulings have been clear: where they find clear evidence of behavior and/or actions that amount to physical abuse of a child, a parent could lose custody. A physically abusive parent may even lose the ability to have any contact with the child at all, dependent on how frequently the abuse occurred, and the severity of that abuse.
Sexual abuse is also, clearly, a valid reason to lose custody of a child. Sexual abuse can take many different forms. A parent who allows sexual abuse to continue is, through that action, likely engaging in a serious act of child abuse themselves via neglect. The courts do not minimize or tolerate abuse.
Neglect
Serious instances of child neglect may lead to a parent losing custody. Neglect generally occurs from a parent’s failure to act in their child’s best interests. This might take a number of forms – from a failure to properly feed and clothe a child, to failure to stop abuse from occurring, as touched on above.
If neglect is pervasive and has served to endanger a child’s health or safety then a court may very well take custody from the offending parent.
Neglect, however, can sometimes be difficult to prove. Witnesses who have regular and recurring interactions with the child and can attest to their regular condition can be helpful in establishing the neglect – individuals such as teachers, neighbors, doctors, etc.
Violating Court Orders
A violation of a court order is serious – whether the violation is minor and technical, or willful and significant. Whether the actual violation rises to the level where a court would actually revoke custody rights will depend on the nature of the violation, and the extent of the parent’s violation of the order. A small, technical, or inadvertent failure to adhere to a court order is not likely to cause a parent a lot of problems – but a pervasive and/or willful failure could.
Let’s consider a couple of examples.
- Consider a scenario where two parents have a custody order that specifies that the parents exchange custody at 5 p.m. at a park that is mid-way between the parent’s homes. Let’s say that one parent is consistently twenty to thirty minutes late, or calls the other parent last minute and asks if they can move the drop off time up by half an hour. Or if the parent can drop the child at the other parent’s workplace instead. The compliant parent is growing very frustrated and wonders if these violations to the court order can justify the other parent losing custody for the day these events happen.
Well – maybe, but probably not, especially if it has not been happening for long. The violations would have to be pretty pervasive and harmful toward the other parent/child, to the point where the court deemed the behavior or violations as detrimental to the child’s best interests.
A good way to nip these kinds of issues in the bud is to ensure your parenting agreement/custody order accounts for instances such as these – such as one parent forfeiting their right to time with the child if they are more than a certain amount of time late to the custody exchange.
- For our second example, let’s say that two parents share joint physical and legal custody – but one parent singlehandedly decided to pull the child from their school and place them into a private school one town over. This act is much more likely to jeopardize the offending parent’s custody rights. A parent who willfully violates the other parent’s joint legal custody rights in a significant way will be frowned on by the court. While there will be many considerations taken into account if the court reviews the matter, it is wise of either parent in circumstances similar to the above to discuss strategy with an experienced attorney.
Abduction
While it is not surprising that abduction of a child could impact a parent’s custody rights – some parents may be surprised that the term may have different meanings to what they are thinking. Child abduction may have different meanings to different people. The court will examine the details of your own situation, to include instances of wrongful withholding of the child, or enticing them away. California Family Code 3048 discusses the California court’s understanding of the term “abduction” – and it encapsulates more situations than one might think. It is imperative to discuss this issue with an experienced attorney and adhere to the terms of your custody agreement.
Contact Cardwell, Steigerwald Young
The idea of losing custody is understandably frightening – as is the idea that your child could be at risk when in your ex’s care. The experienced San Francisco child custody and visitation lawyers at Cardwell Steigerwald Young understand the nuance and care inherent in these cases, and are standing by to help assist you in your own case.
Source:
codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-270/
