The Best Interests of
the Child Standard The underlying goal for any children’s court judge or family
court judge is to determine what’s in the best interest of the child or
children. They do this in every child custody decision, every child support
determination, and in CYFD abuse and neglect cases. Parents believe their
ideas, goals, and plans are in their child’s best interests. Lawyers draft
motions and advocate for what they believe is in the best interests of
child-client or in the best interests of their clients’ children. And of
course, psychologists, teachers, therapists, guardians ad litem, and a host of
other professionals submit reports, observations, recommendations and proffer
testimony all trying to figure out what’s in the child’s best interests. What does the “Best Interests of the Child” standard mean? Although there is no standard definition of “best interests
of the child,” the term generally refers to the deliberation that courts
undertake when deciding what type of services, actions, and orders will best
serve a child as well as who is best suited to take care of a child. “Best
interests” determinations are generally made by considering a number of factors
related to the child’s circumstances and the parent or caregiver’s
circumstances and capacity to parent, with the child’s ultimate safety and
well-being the paramount concern. In New Mexico, our state statutes in the form of two
passages from the Children’s Code provide this as guidance: N.M. Stat. Ann. § 32A-4-28(A) In proceedings to terminate parental rights,
the court shall give primary consideration to the physical, mental, and
emotional welfare and needs of the child, including the likelihood of the child
being adopted if parental rights are terminated. N.M. Stat. Ann. § 32A-1-3 The Children’s Code shall be
interpreted and construed to effectuate the following legislative purposes: • First, to provide for the care, protection, and wholesome
mental and physical development of children coming within the provisions of
this code, and then to preserve the unity of the family, whenever possible • To provide judicial and other procedures through which the
provisions of the Children’s Code are executed and enforced and in which the
parties are assured a fair hearing, and their constitutional and other legal
rights are recognized and enforced • To provide a
continuum of services for children and their families from prevention to
treatment, considering, whenever possible, prevention, diversion, and early
intervention, particularly in the schools • To provide children with services that are sensitive to
their cultural needs • To provide for the cooperation and coordination of the
civil and criminal systems for investigation, intervention, and disposition of
cases, to minimize interagency conflicts and to enhance the coordinated
response of all agencies to achieve the best interests of the child victim • To provide continuity for children and families appearing
before the family court by assuring that, whenever possible, a single judge hears
all successive cases or proceedings involving a child or family The child’s
health and safety shall be the paramount concerns. Permanent separation of the
child from the child’s family, however, would especially be considered when the
child or another child of the parent has suffered permanent or severe injury or
repeated abuse. It is the intent of the legislature that, to the maximum extent
possible, children in New Mexico shall be reared as members of a family unit. This is quite the laundry list of factors for the Courts to consider
when deciding these types of complicated cases. We can see that Courts are to
consider not only the basic needs of the child or children such as housing,
food, medical care, and education, but also cultural and community concerns as
well. Clearly this is a very broad list of factors for the Court to examine
when it considers such things as parenting plans, physical custody, child
support, and even more mundane questions such as which school will the child
attend? Which church shall they attend? Which extracurricular activities are
best for the child? Decisions to these questions are seldom made very quickly. That
means that Courts seldom make these types of decisions in one or two hearings. This
is why this type of litigation is both costly and time consuming. Because these
types of cases are very emotionally loaded and legally complex, oftentimes it’s
best to seek legal representation. Please contact me and I can explain how to
keep costs low and judicial involvement in your family’s lives to a minimum. |
 |
|||||
 
CategoriesAdvisory Consultantchild abuse and neglect child custody child support, family law divorce Domestic Violence Experts family law Grandparents guardian ad litem Holidays Lawyers legal separation LGBT Minor Children Parental Rights property division same-sex couples taxes |
|
 |
|||
    |
|||||
