As a general rule, parenting decisions in a divorce are designed to be made with the best interest of the child in mind. However, what this actually means may be ambiguous to Michigan residents and others. In some cases, decisions may be based more on personal or professional biases as opposed to what is actually going to be best for a minor child.
In most cases, it is best for the child to have a relationship with both parents, assuming that he or she won’t be abused or neglected. In fact, children of divorced parents said that this was worth any extra hassle that they experienced. However, shared parenting may not be championed by those who may believe faulty data that says children want to live with one parent and in one home. There also is no proof that children favor one parent over the other as infants. Both parents should be involved in their children’s lives as soon as possible.
Shared parenting may be successful even if parents don’t necessarily like or get along with each other. Research has shown that shared parenting arrangements can work even if they were mandated by a court. Furthermore, children were generally exposed to lower levels of conflict if their parents had shared physical custody.
In most cases, joint custody may be in the best interest of a child after a divorce. However, parents who have concerns about such an arrangement may want to articulate them to an attorney. This may help individuals who believe that their children may be in danger around the other parent develop a way to keep them safe. This may be accomplished through supervised visitation or by instituting other temporary or permanent limits as to how a potentially dangerous parent interacts with his or her child.
