Understanding the “Best Interests of the Child” Standard in Michigan Custody Cases

Your child’s “best interests” are central to your Michigan divorce or custody proceeding. Any visitation or custody order the court enters is supposed to consider and support these best interests. However, the court’s idea of your child’s best interests may differ vastly from your opinion.

Understanding how the judge determines your child’s best interests is crucial to succeeding in custody proceedings. The more you can show how your desired custody and visitation arrangements align with the court’s opinion, the more success you can see in the courtroom.

How a Court Determines Your Child’s Best Interests

As a parent, you intuitively know your child’s needs to be safe, healthy, and thriving. However, the court cannot rely on its intuition or feelings. Instead, Michigan law calls upon the court to consider several factors, including:

• With whom the child has bonded and how strong bonds are
• Which parent regularly provides care, support, and guidance for the child
• Who purchases food, clothing, and other necessities for the child
• How stable the child’s current living environment has been
• Whether the child presently resides with siblings or half-siblings
• Any physical or mental health conditions the parties may have

In general, courts believe it is in any child’s best interests to have stability in their home life. Therefore, courts tend to enter orders that preserve the status quo for children as much as possible. For example, courts will tend to award the mother custody if the mother stays in the home the child has grown up in with the child’s siblings.

Courts also generally believe that children need to have regular, predictable, and frequent visitation with the non-residential parent. Thus, parenting plans that allow the other parent reasonable visits with the child are more likely to be adopted than parenting plans that seek to limit the other parent’s access to the child.

Proving the “Best Interests” of a Child in Court

While a court can consider what each parent says is in their child’s best interests, courts like to have other evidence and hear from other witnesses. Presenting any of the following in court can help strengthen your position and increase the odds the court will agree with your assessment of your child’s best interests:

• Testimony from family members with whom your child has bonded
• School records and reports
• Statements from your child’s teachers and coaches
• Proof of your child’s involvement in community activities
• Testimony from your child’s neighborhood or school friends

If your child is of a certain age, the court can even consider what your child wants to see happen. The more your child can articulate and explain their preferences, the more compelling their statements will be to the court.

Get Help From an Experienced Michigan Child Custody Lawyer

Every family situation is different. If you are facing an upcoming custody hearing, connect with a family law attorney at the Michigan firm of Gucciardo Family Law. We will review your legal situation and help you present a persuasive case to the court. Our attorneys are committed to assisting you in looking after your child’s best interests.