Describe the best interest standard applied by the majority of courts in making custody determinations. What kinds of factors are encompassed by this standard? Identify the five factors that you believe are most important to consider

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The student's response should draw on the following content and select from among the several factors indicated.
Applying the "best interests standard," the custody determination ideally involves an analysis of the child's needs and an assessment of which parent can most effectively meet those needs. Whether the arrangement is established by the parties or by the court, it must serve the best interests of the child. States identify by statute and/or case law a series of "best interest" factors that courts should consider, among others, in making custody determinations. The factors are not prioritized and the court is free to assign weight to them based on the facts of each case. The New Jersey Statute found in Exhibit 9.1 on page 316 contains an extensive representative list of these factors.

The best interest test is child-centered and individualized and affords courts maximum discretion in making custody decisions. A custody determination does not require a finding that one parent is a "better" or "worse" person than the other parent. The child's best interest is supposed to be paramount. However, the best interest test clearly is subjective and inevitably forces judges to make qualitative judgments into which they may subtly project personal views of what constitutes a "good parent." What is "best" varies by child and what a court considers "best" is not always what a parent may consider "best." A judge sitting in one family court may emphasize and, in effect, reward parenting that is firm and regimented emphasizing rules, discipline, and control. Another family court judge sitting in an adjacent courtroom may look more favorably on parents who promote individuality, creativity, and self-actualization of children. Parents in this situation are faced with little predictability and potentially maximum costly litigation resulting in wide ranging outcomes.