Some people think that when parents decided to get a divorce and will claim to get the custody of their child or children, the mother always has the side of the court. But this is not totally true as the court will always put its concern to the child’s best interest. So eventually, claiming the child’s custody is always a hard battle to fight for all parents.
However, there are circumstances that a parent get the custody of the child and then loses it and this happens because of many reasons. As we have said, the court is always in favor of the child’s concern so it has the power on to whom it grants the custody. On the other hand, it also has the power to make it void if the parent who was given the custody was found to have broken the guidelines given to him or her or incapable of bringing up the child in a healthy and normal environment. So how can a parent lose custody of the child? It can happen for many reasons.
Basic Reasons in Losing Child’s Custody
There are actually many grounds on how a parent can lose custody of the child but we will only discuss the most common ones that generally disqualify a parent in losing his or her child custody.
1. Child abuse. If the parent is found guilty of abusing his or her child sexually, physically or psychologically, automatically the court will take away the right of the guilty parent and give the custody to the other parent that is capable of providing a normal life to the child.
2. Commitment to psychiatric facility. A parent in custody found to be suffering from psychiatric disorder and voluntarily or involuntarily commits himself or herself for psychiatric facility may lose the custody of the child. In case the parent completed the treatment and found to be capable of rearing the child again, he or she may waive his or her right for child custody.
3. Incarceration. The parent in child custody but will be incarcerated for offense will automatically be out of custody of the child and the court will qualify that the other parent will take charge if he or she is capable of caring for the child. In which case the other parent is not fit to rear the child normally, the closest kin of the child can waive for their rights to care for him or her.
4. Neglecting the child’s growth and development. A parent that is found to be neglectful in providing the child’s basic needs such as shelter, food, medical support services and educational support and even proper supervision that will help develop the child into an educated and well-developed person can lose the custody of the child.
5. Parent’s homelessness. If a parent who has the custody of the child loses his or her home which forces the child to live in unsanitary and unsafe living conditions, the said parent may lose the child’s custody. The custody, however, can be settled in court once a proper home settlement is found by the custodial parent.
6. Unfit home environment. If the parent is found to be living in an unsafe and unstable condition that is deemed to be unsafe for the child to grow, the court may decide to reassign the child’s custody to the other parent.
7. Mental incapacities. The parent proven suffering from drug addiction, have chronic illness or having a bad lifestyle that can influence the child’s development in bad condition can lose his or her custody to the child. If the court orders the custodial parent to undergo treatment or rehabilitation and agree, the parent can waive the right for custody again after reclaiming a normal life.
These are only few of the usual reasons on how a parent can lose custody of the child and based from the data, there are actually hundreds of reasons that can make the parent lose child custody. Losing the custody of a child is not a simple ruling. It involves the need of showing proofs and genuine evidences that will prove the parent in custody is not worthy of the right anymore. Just like when the custody case went to the court and the battle have been won by the other parent, this time, the table goes the other way. Still the expertise of the attorneys is needed here. But at the end of the day, the court will still rule that whoever has the capacity to rear the child in an ideal environment and can be able to provide his or her basic needs, will be provided the right to custody.