It’s not always easy to determine who should have custody of a child after a divorce, but there is a checklist you can go over that could give you an idea of how much time each parent currently spends with a child and how that should work out following the divorce.
Here’s an example: If you are the primary caretaker and always provide your child with care while your spouse works, then you would mark down that you provide meals and feeding, do the grocery shopping and do laundry, for example. If there are shared responsibilities, mark those down as well.
Once you mark down which responsibilities each parent takes care of in the home, it’s simple to add up who does more or if the parents roughly have an equal number of responsibilities. Establishing this is the first step in helping you decide on a parenting plan that will work for your situation.
This isn’t the only factor, of course. The court wants to know who spends more time caring for a child, but it also wants to see who has a good potential to care for the child in the future. If the parent who worked can cut back on hours or arrange the schedule for more time with his or her child in the future, for instance, then the court may agree that he or she should obtain more time in the parenting plan. Your attorney can help you write down and discuss everything you do with your child, so you can be prepared when you go to court.
Source: FindLaw, “Checklist: Who Gets Custody? 413 2095,” accessed May 15, 2018