FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT CHILD CUSTODY IN THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT
Many times, upon receiving telephone calls about child custody, the first question that is asked is, “How can I get full custody of my child?” As CT Private Investigators, as soon as we hear that question, we know that our client really means, how can I prevent my husband or wife from obtaining custody of my child or children. From the tone of their voice, our CT Investigators can usually and immediately tell the situation that our client’s child or children may be in is a dangerous or neglectful one. Due to the severity of the situation, we feel that it is only fair that we disclose to you that your situation will most likely not be fixed or mended during our free telephone consultation but over a short period of time, working together, our CT Detectives will work their hardest to get you the custody you believe you deserve. This page, however, is mostly to provide you with information about most child custody disputes and how you, along with our help, can resolve them. Upon our initial telephone consultation, our investigators will first request that you speak with an attorney as we cannot provide legal advice. Our CT Investigators can only provide you with the evidence, the tools you’ll need to win your case.
When fighting a Child Custody Case in Connecticut, all decisions are made by the State Courts. Each court and even each judge will provide its own law in making a determination for which parent should receive full custody or shared custody. In the case when parents actually reside in different states from each other or from the child, the courts that will have jurisdiction over the decisions of the child’s best interest will be the court in which the child has resided in for more than six months. That court will most likely have the exclusive jurisdiction to make any custody determinations and unfortunately if any disputes are brought in any state other than the one that the court has jurisdiction, then most times the court will dismiss those disputes. However, if a determination was made in a state other than the currently jurisdictional state, prior to the child moving, that court will most likely have a continuing jurisdiction over the childrens decisions as long as one of the parents still resides in that state. That ruling is due to the standard that all states followed which is labeled as (Best Interest of the Child).
What is a child custody dispute? A Child Custody Dispute is when two parents, that are in the process of a divorce, are unable to agree on visitation and custody arrangements for the child or children in their family. Due to their inability to agree, that is when a court would step in to make that decision for them. The way the court sees it is if the parents are unable to make the standard basic decisions for the child for their arrangements, then they most likely cannot make decisions without argument about the child’s welfare. Due to that fact, one parent is then placed in charge of the child or childrens welfare and will have the authority to make important decisions including their medical, social and school. The process of having the control over the important decisions over the childrens welfare, even if the other parent disagrees, is called Legal Custody which is the right to make legal binding decisions affecting the child or children. Another aspect that the State of Connecticut Courts are concerned with is the Physical Custody of the child or children which is where the children will live and under what conditions. Usually the courts will grant Legal and Physical Custody to the same parent unless the living conditions for the child or children would best be suited with the other parent.
Although the State of Connecticut Courts can and usually do make most of the decisions in a Child Custody Case, approximately ninety five percent of all started Child Custody Cases are actually settled before trial. That agreement is usually documented by an document by name of a Separation Agreement. A Separation Agreement is an agreement made between two parties, both parents, regarding the child or childrens custody, the rules of visitation and financial child support. Even when a Separation Agreement is written that does not mean that it is set in stone. As time passes, lifestyles and situations change allowing for modifications of many agreements.
For obvious reasons, there is not one single factor that will be completely damaging to your spouse losing custody. However, the court that has jurisdiction will take any evidence or behavioral factor into consideration and will base it’s decisions on what is in the best interest of the child. The courts ruling then becomes heavily based then on facts presented. The court usually will consider such factors as the current age and health of each parent, which of the two parents show more responsibility when with the child, and who the child or childrens closer psychological parent is. Other factors may be who actually takes the child or children to school, attends the child or childrens school events, transports the child or children to doctors appointments and other factors of the same importance. In many cases, the court may appoint a guardian at litem or an attorney for the child or children in order to ensure that the child or children have their interests represented. That appointee will then interview the child or children for some time and will then interview the parents as well. Their report will then be presented to the court which will include their recommendations regarding the child or childrens custody. There are times as well when a psychiatrist or psychologist will be appointed to your child or childrens case by the court and they will also provide a report and make a recommendation.
Most times, when attempting to obtain full custody or have the other parents custody removed, it may be difficult. Most courts understand that relocating a child or disturbing their daily life habits and surrounding can be disturbing to them. For that reason, courts are reluctant to make any changes unless the new arrangements that are being proposed are better than the ones that they are currently living with. Therefore, when a parent is seeking a change in custody they face additional difficulties due to the uphill battle of removing a child from their current situation.
As CT Private Detectives, we are continually requested to conduct investigations to obtain evidence against the parent or party that current has some type of visitation on Child Custody Cases. Our Investigators conduct these investigations on a daily basis but always meet with our clients prior to beginning the investigation to ensure that they understand the consequences of the investigation and to make sure they take careful consideration and have a full understanding of what we do prior to starting the investigation.
When investigating a parent, obtaining evidence can be a difficult task. There is usually no clear line in the sand that determines a good parent from a bad parent. Each case has its own guidelines and judge who is determining what evidence will be allowed into court and which is used to determine the general welfare of the child. Some evidence is better than some others which our Investigators keep in mind when investigating your case. Some examples of solid evidence would be obtaining information, witness statements or video showing the other parent in your case having a drinking or drug dependency and more so if they are using either in front of the child. As a licensed Investiagtive Agency in Connecticut, evidence can also be proven by one of our detectives having observed the activity and can testify to that fact. Sometimes our investigators are requested to obtain evidence that a parent does not spend an adequate amount of time with your child when they have their custody time. That is usually difficult unless on the days that the parent has custody, they drop them off at a grandparents home or friends home and then depart for the rest of the day. Believe it or not, that happens all too often. Other evidence can be from leaving a child in an unattended motor vehicle while they run into a store or restaurant or if the parent verbally or physically abuse the child in the presence of the investigator. Unfortunately, any time of mistreatment that occurs behind closed doors cannot be observed and cannot be documented. There are privacy laws that restrict what an investigator can do to obtain evidence and if any evidence is obtained in that manner it would be thrown out anyway. Most times, during an investigation, we conducted background checks on not only the parent in question but the people that they affiliate themselves with while with your child or children. Upon uncovering a criminal background for the parents new girlfriend or boyfriend or that the persons coming and going from their residence has a history of abuse, drugs or sexual assault, that information can be used immediately to remove the child from that parents custody until a court has an opportunity to rule otherwise.
When our investigators are on the case, they document everything that the parent and child do when together in the form of videotape and photographs as you never know what will happen once the camera is running. Each investigation is different and conducted in a different manner.
Upon our CT Detectives obtaining evidence of the parent conducting themselves in a manner not conducive to Connecticut Laws, the evidence is prepared in the form of a detailed investigative report, videotape and photographic evidence. Being licensed by the Connecticut State Police, all of the evidence we obtain is admissible in a court of law. Depending on the evidence, it can end up being the central evidence presented in your child custody case in court. Of course, having a good attorney that can present the evidence in the most effective manner would be beneficial as well.
