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Children’s Best Interests: How They Affect Your Child Custody Battle in Naples


— November 24, 2021

If you’re serious about winning your custody battle, you need to phrase every single argument around the children’s best interests.


Most parents want nothing more than to act in their child’s best interests. If you’re engaged in a custody battle in Naples, you may believe that you know more about your child’s best interests than anyone else. However, it’s important to accept that the court has its own very specific guidelines when it comes to assessing a child’s best interests. If you want to approach your custody battle in Florida in the most efficient way possible, it’s very important that you understand these guidelines. 

If you want to learn more about how courts in Florida define a child’s best interests, it’s best to get in touch with a qualified, experienced child custody attorney as soon as possible. These legal professionals can not only explain the finer details of custody law in Florida, but they can also guide you towards a positive legal outcome in an efficient manner. 

Why a Child’s Best Interests are Important

So why do you even need to worry about these factors? Simply put, family courts will only make decisions based on the children. Your own personal wishes and needs will be completely disregarded. This means that if you’re serious about winning your custody battle, you need to phrase every single argument around the children’s best interests. In other words, you want the child not because it will make you happy, but because the child will live a better life at your side. 

How Florida Defines a Child’s Best Interests

Woman and two children on a park bench; image by Benjamin Manley, via Unsplash.com.
Woman and two children on a park bench; image by Benjamin Manley, via Unsplash.com.

According to Florida law, a child’s best interests are determined based on a number of different factors. These factors include:

  • Cooperation: Courts will look more favorably upon parents who have exhibited an intent to cooperate with their former spouse and honor the custody agreement. 
  • Continuing Stability: If a child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment for an extended period of time, courts are more likely to keep them in this environment. 
  • Distances Between Parents: If you wish to maintain custody, it’s a good idea to live close to your former spouse. If the distances are too great, courts may decide that it puts less stress on the child to remain primarily in one location. 
  • The Moral Fitness of the Parents
  • The Mental Health of the Parents
  • The Physical Health of the Parents
  • The Preference of the Child: If the child is old enough, the court may consider their own personal preferences in matters related to custody. 
  • Knowledge of the Parents: Courts are more likely to award custody to parents who know a lot about their children, including their grades, their closest friends, their hobbies, and so on. 

Enlist the Help of a Qualified Attorney Today

If you’ve been searching the Naples area for a qualified, experienced child custody attorney, look no further than The Law Offices of Michael Raheb, P.A. Over the years, we have helped concerned parents get through numerous custody battles, and we understand how important these situations can be. With our help, you can spend as much time as possible with your children after the divorce by proving you have the child’s best interests at heart. Book your consultation today. 

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