{"id":4082,"date":"2014-10-27T12:46:23","date_gmt":"2014-10-27T18:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bgs.com\/?p=4082"},"modified":"2014-10-27T12:46:23","modified_gmt":"2014-10-27T18:46:23","slug":"how-do-minnesota-courts-decide-custody-of-a-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/27\/how-do-minnesota-courts-decide-custody-of-a-child\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do Minnesota Courts Decide Custody of a Child?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Minnesota law considers the best interests of the child, so a wide variety of factors are taken into consideration and no one factor takes precedence over another. The courts may award joint physical custody if the arrangement is practical and in the child\u2019s best interest.<\/p>\n<h3>Some factors that the courts take into consideration are:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><i>Where the child goes to school and the local community. <\/i>If a child is already well adjusted in his or her current school and community, it may not be in the child\u2019s best interest to force the child to move. The opposite can also be true. If a child is not well adjusted in their current environment, he or she may be better off moving to a new community and attending a new school.<i><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>The parent who will remain in the family\u2019s home. <\/i>If one parent will remain in the family\u2019s home and can provide a stable environment, they will have an advantage over the parent who is constantly moving from one home to another. <i><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>How long the child has been living in the family\u2019s home. <\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>The parent\u2019s wishes.<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>The parent who has served as the child\u2019s primary caretaker. <\/i>In some cases, one parent acted as the child\u2019s primary caretaker. He or she was responsible for the child\u2019s day-to-day care. This includes everything from bathing to meal preparation, medical care, cleaning and teaching the child necessary life skills.<i><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>The child\u2019s wishes (if they are mature enough to express a preference).<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>Whether or not the child has been abused either physically or mentally by either parent or another family member. <\/i>If there is a history of abuse, the courts may decide that a parent is unfit for custody or even visitation rights in some cases.<i><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>The mental and physical health of the parents and the child.<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>The parent\u2019s ability to provide the child with guidance, love and affection.<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>The intimacy of each parent-child relationship. <\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The Child\u2019s Wishes<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4083 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Untitled-300x142.png\" alt=\"Child Custody Minnesota\" width=\"300\" height=\"142\" \/><\/h3>\n<p>If a child expresses a reasonable, mature preference, their wishes may be taken into consideration. It\u2019s important to consider whether or not a child wants to live with one parent or another, but manipulation and fear can cloud a child\u2019s judgment.<\/p>\n<h3>The Parent\u2019s Behavior<\/h3>\n<p>Far too often, parents are not on their best behavior when going through a divorce, and this can wind up hurting their chances of gaining custody, and is also harmful to the development of their child.<\/p>\n<h3>BGS Family Law Attorneys Can Help<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re dealing with divorce and <a href=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/areas-of-practice\/divorce\/\">child custody<\/a> issues, don\u2019t go it alone!\u00a0 The <a href=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/areas-of-practice\/family-law\/\">family law<\/a> team at <a href=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/\">Barna, Guzy and Steffen<\/a> are dedicated to providing legal counsel that will help you understand all the variables in play with your family\u2019s future. <a href=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/contact-us\/\">Give us a call today<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Minnesota law considers the best interests of the child, so a wide variety of factors are taken into consideration and no one factor takes precedence over another. The courts may award joint physical custody if the arrangement is practical and in the child\u2019s best interest. Some factors that the courts take into consideration are: Where the child goes to school and the local community. If a child is already well adjusted in his or her current school and community, it may not be in the child\u2019s best interest to force the child to move. The opposite can also be true. If a child is not well adjusted in their current environment, he or she may be better off moving to a new community and attending a new school. The parent who will remain in the family\u2019s home. If one parent will remain in the family\u2019s home and can provide a stable environment, they will have an advantage over the parent who is constantly moving from one home to another. How long the child has been living in the family\u2019s home. The parent\u2019s wishes. The parent who has served as the child\u2019s primary caretaker. In some cases, one parent acted as the child\u2019s primary caretaker. He or she was responsible for the child\u2019s day-to-day&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Do Minnesota Courts Decide Custody of a Child? - Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/27\/how-do-minnesota-courts-decide-custody-of-a-child\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Do Minnesota Courts Decide Custody of a Child? - Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Minnesota law considers the best interests of the child, so a wide variety of factors are taken into consideration and no one factor takes precedence over another. The courts may award joint physical custody if the arrangement is practical and in the child\u2019s best interest. Some factors that the courts take into consideration are: Where the child goes to school and the local community. If a child is already well adjusted in his or her current school and community, it may not be in the child\u2019s best interest to force the child to move. The opposite can also be true. If a child is not well adjusted in their current environment, he or she may be better off moving to a new community and attending a new school. The parent who will remain in the family\u2019s home. If one parent will remain in the family\u2019s home and can provide a stable environment, they will have an advantage over the parent who is constantly moving from one home to another. How long the child has been living in the family\u2019s home. The parent\u2019s wishes. The parent who has served as the child\u2019s primary caretaker. In some cases, one parent acted as the child\u2019s primary caretaker. He or she was responsible for the child\u2019s day-to-day...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/27\/how-do-minnesota-courts-decide-custody-of-a-child\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-27T18:46:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Untitled-300x142.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth A. Schading\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth A. 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