A common question that a Pennsylvania family law attorney gets asked when they meet with a new client for the very first time is whether their gender impacts their prospects for being awarded custody of their kids. While it used to definitively impact cases some decades ago, gender doesn’t play as much of a deciding role as it once did. Judges focus on what’s in the best interest of the kids instead.
Back decades ago, many judges tended to award custody of kids in higher numbers to moms instead of dads. They did, in part, because more mothers stayed home with their kids at the time. Studies conducted by child psychologists also emphasized that awarding custody to mothers, especially when a child was younger, may have been most ideal for them.
More mothers have since joined the workforce. Understandings of parenting have changed. Custody awards have too.
It’s now commonplace in virtually every jurisdiction for judges to award parents joint custody of their kids whenever possible. This is why it’s best if parenting plans show that parents are trying to equally share in the responsibility of taking care of their child. This is what is most likely to be approved by a judge.
If both parents work full-time jobs, then they may make arrangements that will allow them to have their kids during the times that the other is working. This is common among moms and dads who have dissimilar schedules. If they work the same ones, then they may draft a parenting plan that allows them to share custody equally during nonwork hours.
Parents, of course, have to decide who’s responsible if an emergency happens at any other time and also how they’re going to handle birthdays, holidays and school breaks.
Many moms who have historically sought custody have argued that their children would be in better hands being cared for by them. Some dads have backed down thinking they have no defense for such an argument.
Arguments for why a mom or dad should be awarded custody of their kids can be made by both parents, though. A family law attorney in Greensburg can help you make a case for why you should win custody of your child.