If you are dealing with divorce and you have children involved, you may want to seek sole custody of the child. This may be a difficult undertaking if your spouse desires to have custody, as well. Knowing how the judge decides on who has sole custody of the child may help you if you are in this situation.

Parent's income

Both of the parent's income will be closely examined to help determine who should get custody of the child. If one parent makes a lot more than the other one and is seeking custody, this may allow the judge to be more lenient in considering this parent over the other.

Child's request

The judge will take the request of the child seriously and may schedule time to speak to the child alone.

Listed below are some of the questions that may be addressed during this meeting:

1. Which parent do you prefer to live with and why?

2. Has either of your parents ever abused you?

3.  Do you feel you have a good relationship with both parents?

4.  Is your school district in the area of the parent you prefer to live with long-term?

5.  Will you want to visit regularly with the parent that you don't live with all the time?

Once the judge gets the answers to these questions, this may help define the parent that is selected for sole custody.

The residence

It's important for a child to have a habitable place to call home. This means the house should be safe to live in and offers all the necessary amenities for day-to-day living, including heat, water and privacy for the child.

The judge will closely examine the living conditions of the both of the parents, and this will play a major role in who obtains custody of the child.

The parent's health

It's important for the parent who has sole custody of the child to be capable of providing care on a daily basis. This means cooking meals, doing laundry and other critical tasks that are important for the well-being of the child.

The parent who gets custody of the child should be in good physical and mental health.

If you are in a custody battle, it's important to understand fully what is involved in this process. Be sure to schedule an appointment with child custody lawyer, such as Andrew H. P. Norton, who can help you with this difficult legal situation.