What are the factors to obtain legal custody for children in PA?

When a custody decision is made by a court in PA, there are three different arrangements that can be considered. These arrangements are:

• Full custody
• Primary custody with visitation
• Shared or joint custody

In order to obtain full custody for children in PA, there must be a convincing reason why the court should give you primary or sole access to the children. Courts generally aim to allow a child continued access to both of his or her parents, and so the evidence will need to be strong that you should be the one given full custody. 

Getting Full Custody

A court looks at a number of different factors when deciding who should have custody of a child or children. These factors are all designed to help a court make a decision on what is in the best interests of the child. Factors considered include:

• The child's existing relationship with each of his parents
• Any history of abuse or negligence
• The ability of each parent to provide a solid, stable home and continued connections to both the other parent and the community as a whole. 

To be awarded full custody, you generally need to show that the other parent cannot provide a stable environment for the child and/or that there has been a history of problems such as abuse or neglect that make the parent unfit to have continued access to the children. if you wish to prove these things and get a judge to agree with you and give you custody, it is a good idea to hire a lawyer for advice and assistance in making your case.