Also known as: best interest of the child · best interests of children · best interest of children · best-interest standard · BIC
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard by which a court determines what arrangements would be to a child's greatest benefit. The standard requires evaluation of all relevant factors bearing on the child's welfare, including parental and child wishes as well as the child's adjustment to home, school, and community. Conduct by a proposed custodian that does not affect the relationship with the child is disregarded.
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Brandon Black and Belinda Baxter dispute custody of their six-year-old after separation. The court reviews the child's school performance and each parent's daily involvement but declines to weigh Brandon's unrelated financial dispute with a former employer. Custody is awarded to Belinda because the evidence shows she better supports the child's current emotional needs.
After a prior order granted Bruce Baldwin visitation with his niece, the aunt seeks modification. Evidence shows the child's school performance has improved under the current schedule and the aunt demonstrates stable housing. The court grants the modification because the change serves the child's welfare.
Benjamin Brooks and Blake Butler each claim parentage of a four-year-old after genetic testing. The court examines the length of time each man has acted as a parent and the child's age and stability. Parentage is adjudicated in favor of Benjamin because that outcome best preserves the child's existing emotional bonds.
Two years after a decree awarded primary custody to Bharat Bhatia, the other parent petitions for change. New evidence shows the child has developed serious anxiety in the current home and the petitioning parent now provides consistent medical care. The court modifies custody because the change in circumstances requires it to serve the child's welfare.
Divorced parents Brandon Black and Belinda Baxter agree that the child will live primarily with Brandon. The court reviews the proposed schedule and finds that the child would lose daily contact with a stable grandparent who provides after-school care. The agreement is rejected because it would not promote the child's welfare.
After the mother relocates with the child to a new state, the father petitions for custody in the original state. The child maintains annual extended visits with the father's extended family and continues treatment with specialists there. The court assumes jurisdiction because substantial evidence concerning the child's care and relationships remains available locally.
Courts examine all relevant factors including each parent's wishes, the child's wishes if of sufficient age, the child's adjustment to home and community, and the mental and physical health of all individuals involved. Conduct that does not affect the parent's relationship with the child is excluded from consideration.
A court may modify a prior custody decree only upon a showing of changed circumstances since the original order and a determination that modification is necessary to serve the child's welfare. Some statutes also require a two-year waiting period unless serious endangerment is shown.
…Haslip, supra , at 20 (comparing punitive damages standards to such legal standards as "reasonable care," "due diligence," and "best interests of the child") (internal quotation marks omitted). But they must offer some kind of constraint upon a jury or court's discretion, and thus protection against purely arbitrary behavior. The standards the…
…age will be, subject to environmental pressures not of choice.” Record 84 (emphasis added). The court then concluded that the best interests of the child would be served by awarding custody to the father. The court’s rationale is contained in the following: “The father’s evident resentment of the mother’s choice of a black partner is not…
…1977 and Supp. 1982-1983), is intended to establish procedures for adoptions. Those procedures are designed to promote the best interests of the child, to protect the rights of
…as joint custodians cannot agree on important matters such as education, it is the court’s duty to determine the issue in the best interests of the child
…C. § 1738. The anomaly traces to the fact that custody orders characteristically are subject to modification as required by the best interests of the child
Modification requires proof by a preponderance of the evidence that a substantial and continuing change in circumstances has occurred and that the modification itself is in the child's best interest. An agreement between the parties may be approved unless the court finds it would not serve the child's welfare.
A court may assume jurisdiction when it is in the child's best interest because the child and at least one parent have a significant connection with the state and substantial evidence concerning the child's care and relationships is available there. Physical presence alone is insufficient to confer jurisdiction.
When two or more individuals assert competing parentage claims, the court adjudicates parentage according to the child's best interest after considering factors such as the child's age and the length of time each individual has assumed a parental role.