The age of the children involved matters greatly when Maryland courts are making decisions about child custody and visitation rights. For older children, one large difference concerns how much deference the court will give to the child’s articulated desires. The rule can be stated this way: the older and more mature the child, the more the court will take into consideration the child’s desire with respect to which parent should be the custodial parent.

However, this is not the only difference when divorce and child custody decisions involve older children. Whatever the age and whenever custody issues are raised, the court’s legal requirement is to determine what is in the “best interests” of the child. Where appropriate, the “best interests” of the child involve the ability to form full affective bonds with both parents. This goal, however, means different things depending on the age of the child. For a newborn or children under the age of two, the formation of those affective bonds means a lot of daily “face time” between the child and both parents. Thus, the custody and visitation decisions must reflect the needs of the very young child.

Something similar is true for children who are toddlers up to about the age of 6. Such children are known to form affective bonds with any person who is regularly providing care and support (like a caregiver or others in the primary household). As such, again, the child custody and visitation decisions must reflect the need for both parents to have significant and regular time with the child to allow the child to form close bonds with both parents.

However, by the time the child reaches 10 years and nearing their teen years, affective bonds with both parents should have already been formed. At this age, children have long learned that absence does not mean non-existence, and it is relatively “easy” to live with one parent for a few days or a week and then “go back” to the other parent. Moreover, at this age, a child is beginning to spend more time away from the home and relationships with friends and schoolmates begin to become important. The child is also forming relationships with other adults like teachers.

Taken together, these facts mean that child custody and visitation decisions become “easier” when older children are involved. Given that affective bonds are already formed, the court has much more flexibility in determining what is in the “best interests” of the child. For a newborn, a five day/two day custody “split” might endanger the child’s development of its relationships with both parents. That is not a problem for older children.

Having said that, it should be acknowledged that custody and visitation involving older children is complicated for divorce courts in other ways. Mostly, divorce courts must take into account the burgeoning social lives of these older children. Pre-teens and teenagers quickly obtain lengthy schedules of their own involving school activities, sports, hobbies, social engagements, etc. Eventually, those must be factored into the evaluation of the child’s “best interests.”

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Child Custody Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Family Law lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.