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CAN
THEY DO THAT ??
CUSTODY
Janet
T. Mills, Esq.
WRIGHT
& MILLS, P.A.
MY HUSBAND FILED
FOR DIVORCE. BECAUSE HE CHEATED ON ME, I
HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING THE KIDS,
DON'T I??
No,
you don't!
The
judge's decision about where the children
should live depends on what's in the best
interests of the children, not on which
parent broke up the
marriage.
A
divorce in Maine is usually based on
irreconcilible differences. Fault is not
an issue.
When
it comes to the children, the court's
concern is the safety and well-being of
the children, not what's best for the
parents.
The
court may order that the children live
primarily with one parent or the other, or
the court may award shared residence
(formerly "custody"), so that the children
spend equal time with both
parents.
In
making decisions about the children, the
court considers, among other things, the
age of the children, their relationshp
with their parents, continuity of the
children's living arrangements, each
parent's capacity to cooperate and solve
disputes with the other regarding the
children and each parent's ability to
encourage the children to spend time with
the other parent.
The
court will also take into account any
history of domestic abuse in the marriage,
because the Legislature has concluded that
abuse between parents is particularly bad
for children in the household.
At
the same time, if one parent has willfully
misused the protection from abuse
procedure in order to gain a tactical
advantage in a custody case, then that
action may be held against that parent in
determining where the children should
live.
Although
people commonly assume that the wife will
get the children in a divorce, the law
clearly states that no preference will be
given to one party or the other because of
gender.
Remember,
you do not have any advantage over your
spouse in obtaining primary residence of
your children just because your spouse
cheated on you.
It's
the law!
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