Your Child’s Grades Can Affect Child Custody In Florida

At first, it might seem like your child’s educational record has absolutely nothing to do with your custody battle. After all, what does it matter whether your child gets straight As or is failing math class? Their needs as a child remain the same, and this shouldn’t affect your ability to maintain custody… right? According to family courts in Florida, your child’s educational records can indeed play a role in your custody battle. Let’s find out how this works:

The Child’s Best Interests 

When making decisions about who should get custody of your child, courts always consider the child’s best interests. There are many factors to consider here, including physical health, the safety of each home, and many others. One factor is their education, and this can be very important to set the foundation for a happy, successful life in later years.

Grades Can Slip After Divorce 

This is an especially serious concern because grades can slip after divorce. This should come as no surprise, because a divorce causes serious stress and emotional turmoil. Perhaps most notably, it’s a real distraction for students. Some studies show that adolescents with divorced parents are five times more likely to experience difficulties at school. There are many other studies that back this up.

When Can Slipping Grades Affect Custody? 

If your student’s grades start slipping, the judge might take a closer look at these records. They might try to determine if the slipping grades are linked to one particular parent. For example, your student might struggle to attend class on time when living with your ex. They might also turn in assignments late or fail quizzes while staying with your ex. On the other hand, your student might show better outcomes when staying with you instead. Of course, the opposite might also be true.

In this situation, the judge might consider whether it’s a good idea to have the child spend more time with the parent that seems to cultivate better learning outcomes. However, you should understand that this is somewhat rare. For family courts to take this decision, the difference in grades needs to be very obvious and concerning. For example, if your student gets a “C” on a test while staying with you and later gets a “B” on another test while staying with your ex, this is unlikely to affect your custody arrangement.

But if your student suddenly starts flunking all of their classes after staying with your ex when previously they were getting straight As while staying with you, family courts will take notice.

Where Can I Find a Qualified Divorce Lawyer in Orlando? 

Orlando child custody lawyer Steve Marsee, P.A. is standing by to assist you with your upcoming custody battle. We know that there are many factors that family courts may take into account when determining their custody decisions. While your child’s educational records may become important, this is just one factor among many that you need to keep in mind. Book a consultation today, and we can approach these factors with a sense of confidence and efficiency.

Sources: 

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6559749/

justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/fl-lf/divorce/wd98_2-dt98_2/p3.html#:~:text=Immediately%20following%20divorce%2C%20Kaye%20(1989,%2C%20while%20girls’%20were%20not