MANY parents believe that if you are a working parent, then the other non-working parent will get physical custody of the minor children automatically. This is a misperception of the law and simplifies the law too much that it trivializes it. There are many more issues that a court must look at in determining which parent will get custody of the minor child/children.
The Family Code, the law of the State of California, is full of issues that the court must consider if properly brought up by a parent in a hearing or trial. In addition, there are many case law that gives guidance and examples what the court could and could not do in a particular circumstance.
For example, in a situation where there is a single working mother and the father remarried—– A single mother might have to entrust her child to day care or baby-sitters in order to facilitate her employment obligations. But this fact alone cannot be used as a basis for denying the mother custody on an assumption she will necessarily provide inferior care to that of the other parent who also works but can (because of remarriage) leave the child at home with a stepparent.
Moreover, a denial of custody to the single working parent is improper simply on a showing the other parent has the financial means to hire live-in help as an alternative to out-of-home day care.
In conclusion, the court recognizes that parents must work in order to survive. However, this fact must not be used against a parent. It is very important that when you have a custody hearing or a custody litigation, you must prepare yourself by providing the court case law as to what it can or what it cannot do in your particular circumstances. This is the lawyering part. A lawyer will be able to distinguish your case and present to the court what could persuade the court to do. It is arguing your case in front of a judge and persuading your case to a judge to go your way.
I have had many clients that come to me because parents cannot handle the unreasonableness of the other parent. A part of the lawyers job is to make sure that a parent understand what the law is and what you can and what you cannot do when it comes to the custody of children. In understanding this, we can fashion facts that will persuade the court to go your way.
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Ethelene F. Salas, Esq. is a practicing family law attorney. Ms. Salas is a Pilipino-American born in the Philippines, raised in the United States, and speaks Tagalog fluently. She completed all her studies in the United States including a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics in 1989 from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Juris Doctorate in 1992 from the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) School of Law. The Law Offices of Ethelene F. Salas is located at—the main office at 100 N. Barranca St., Suite 700, West Covina, CA 91791. We also have branch locations in Torrance/Gardena, Cerritos, Riverside, Orange, and Ontario. To schedule an appointment with her, please call (626) 858-4646 or email us at [email protected]
