When you have decided to divorce with your wife/husband for certain reasons, but you cannot reach any agreement with the other, you may have to file a motion of divorce to the court. If you got a child, and you would like to gain the custody during the proceedings, the first thing comes into your mind would probably be those comparisons of certain areas, for example, educational background, annual income level, etc. between you and your husband/wife. Does this kind of comparison really mean that much to the panel when they deliberate the custody? The answer would be “NO”.
Notwithstanding that it is the common sense to think of the abilities of the spouse for upbringing the child, the real principle for granting the custody lies in the laws and regulations requires the court to take children’s rights and interests into its first place consideration. The Supreme Court’s Opinions on Handling Dispute regarding Custody of Child in the Trial of Divorce Cases clearly prescribes this principle in the first paragraph. If your child is over 10 years old, the child’s opinion as to whom he/she would like to live with shall be the most important decisive factor for the court to confer the custody. If your child is under 10 years old, it would depend on which side would bring to the child more positive influences.
It was this principle finally let one of our recent clients who even though has lower level of education than her husband, and who gains less annual salary due to her instable working status, eventually get the custody of her child. During the divorce proceedings we resorted to the principle and tried to help the client collect evidence regarding her husband’s bad habits, and finally built up our strongest stance for securing the custody for the mother by finding out the fact that the husband is addicted to drinking and has family violence tendency in his daily life. Considering the bad influence an alcoholic may bring to the child and potential family violence or unconcerned attitude may take place upon the child when the husband is drunk, the court finally awarded the custody to our client.