Grand Rapids and Surrounding Counties Child Custody Law Firm

Child custody is often the most complicated and emotional issue to resolve in divorce.  Robert B. Relph is a child custody lawyer in Grand Rapids and surrounding counties and has provided valuable legal advice to clients for forty years.

Child custody proceedings

Most judges refer custody disputes to the Friend of the Court for an evaluation, and hopefully, a resolution of the issue.  The evaluator’s task is to analyze what is in the best interests of the children. Although temporary custody is usually given to the parent caring for the child during the Waiting Pertiod, final custody may be determined to be either Sole Custody or Joint Custody. To determine the child’s best interest, the evaluator:

• Interviews the parties
• Interviews the children (where appropriate)
• May interview teachers and other community professionals
• Receives witness statements from the party

Following his or her investigation, the evaluator prepares a report addressing the points in the Child Custody Act which are as follows:

• The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing between the parties involved and the child
• The capacity and disposition of the parties involved to give the child love, affection, and guidance and to continue the education and raising of the child in his or her religion or creed, if any
• The capacity and disposition of the parties involved to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care, or other remedial care recognized and permitted under the laws of this state in place of medical care, and other material needs
• The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment, and the desirability of maintaining continuity
• The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home or homes
• The moral fitness of the parties involved
• The mental and physical health of the parties involved
• The home, school, and community record of the child
• The reasonable preference of the child, if the court considers the child to be of sufficient age to express a preference
• The willingness and ability of each party to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent or the child and the parents
• Domestic violence, regardless of whether the violence was directed against or witnessed by the child
• Any other factor considered by the court to be relevant to a particular child custody dispute

The evaluator’s report and recommendation is sent to the attorneys and the judge. If the parties are able to resolve their dispute through this process, no further hearing regarding custody is necessary.  However, if the dispute continues, the matter is tried before the judge, with the evaluator’s testimony as part of the evidence presented. 

Contact Robert B. Relph or call 616-647-3204 to schedule a consultation.