Mothers have a special bond with their children that a father or another parent may not understand. When parents live in separate households, California law recognizes both parents’ parental rights and seeks to balance these rights and the best interests of the child. That process may not always recognize the bond that a mother has with her children, and it can create complex legal challenges for mothers seeking child custody orders. Our maternal child custody lawyers in Ventura help mothers throughout the fight for custody rights to keep their children close, and we especially work to protect them from unsafe situations or abusive parents. For help with your child custody case, contact the Law Offices of Bamieh and De Smeth today for a free consultation. Our number is (805) 643-5555.
Do Courts Favor the Mom for Child Custody in CA?
Despite common misconceptions, courts do not prefer to grant child custody to the mother other the father. Instead, courts actually prefer to give joint physical and legal custody when possible. This allows children to benefit from the involvement of both parents if the parents are willing and able to be parents.
In some cases, joint custody is not possible, and courts will typically award sole custody to the parent who is most suitable. In cases where a parent gets sole physical custody, the other parent may still have visitation rights, but the court may order that the visitation be supervised by the custodial parent, a representative of the court, or another monitor.
In cases of physical or sexual abuse, drug abuse, crime, or other risks that put the children in danger, the court may strip a parent of custody completely. In these cases, that parent will lose any right to access the child or make decisions in their child’s life, protecting the child from harm.
The court considers the best interests of the child when making these decisions and, as such, stripping a parent of custody does not usually relieve them of their duty to pay child support.
When deciding which parent gets custody, courts do not automatically give preference to the mother. Historically, mothers have been primary caregivers for their children. This may correlate to a higher rate of mothers who get custody, but these mothers do not get custody because they are moms. In reality, whichever parent has the time and skills to care for their children’s physical, mental, and emotional growth often gets custody.
In many cases, this justifies joint custody, since both parents may be equipped for such tasks. However, if one parent spends more time at work or has to travel frequently, the court may prefer to give increased parenting time or sole physical custody to the parent who is home more often. Even if this means that the custodial parent works fewer hours and makes less money, the court may award primary custody to the non-working parent and solve financial inequality issues by ordering the working parent to pay child support.
