When parents can’t agree on who should have custody of their child, the decision falls to a California judge. But judges aren’t allowed to play favorites or hand out custody based on who’s the “better” parent in a general sense. Instead, California law requires courts to make custody decisions based solely on what’s in the best interest of the child.
The key statutes guiding these decisions are California Family Code §§ 3011 and 3020, which ensure that the child’s health, safety, and welfare are always the court’s top priorities.
Order of Preference
Under California law, neither parent starts with an advantage in a custody case. Mothers and fathers are equally entitled to seek custody of their child. California’s public policy is clear that children generally benefit from having frequent and continuing contact with both parents after a separation, divorce, or the end of a relationship. At the same time, the law recognizes an important limit. That contact should only occur when it is consistent with the child’s best interest.
When courts consider custody placement, they follow a general order of preference outlined in California law:
- To both parents jointly, or to either parent individually, based on what serves the child’s best interest.
- To a third party, such as a relative or caretaker, if the parents are unfit and the child has been living in a stable, healthy home with someone else.
- To another suitable adult, if needed, who is able to provide proper care and guidance.
Throughout this process, the court’s focus remains the same. The goal is to place the child in the arrangement that best supports their safety, stability, and overall development.
10 Factors the Courts Consider in Determining the Child’s Best Interest
Emotional Bonds Between Parent and Child
A central part of any custody decision is the emotional connection between the child and each parent. As explained in Burchard v. Garay (1986), a custody determination must be based on “a true assessment of the emotional bonds between parent and child.” This means the court examines how those bonds are formed and maintained in everyday life.
Relevant considerations may include:
- How much time each parent spends with the child on a regular basis
- Who prepares meals and handles daily routines
- Which parent manages bath time, bedtime, and reading
Together, these factors help the court understand the depth and stability of the child’s emotional connections and ensure custody decisions support the child’s emotional wellbeing.
Ability to Provide Love, Affection, and Guidance
In In re Marriage of Carney (1979) 24 Cal.3d 725, the court explained that “the essence of parenting lies in the ethical, emotional, and intellectual guidance the parent gives to the child throughout his formative years, and often beyond.”
Judges evaluate how each parent nurtures the child’s emotional development and helps shape values, judgment, and behavior. A parent who listens, provides reassurance, and offers age appropriate guidance is often viewed as supporting the child’s long term development.
Courts may consider factors such as:
- Who helps the child with schoolwork and learning challenges
- How each parent disciplines and teaches right from wrong
- Whether a parent encourages healthy relationships with extended family
- Who stays involved when the child faces emotional or behavioral difficulties
By focusing on guidance as well as affection, the court seeks to ensure that custody arrangements support the child’s emotional growth, moral development, and overall wellbeing, both now and in the years ahead.
Ability to Provide for the Child’s Basic Needs
Another key consideration in determining a child’s best interest is each parent’s ability and willingness to provide for the child’s basic needs. California law is clear that both parents are responsible for providing food, clothing, housing, and healthcare.
Courts are not comparing which parent is wealthier. Instead, judges look at whether each parent can reliably meet the child’s needs, either directly or through financial support. A parent’s capacity to provide includes both current resources and earning ability, as well as practical considerations related to employment.
In evaluating this factor, courts may consider:
- Each parent’s earning capacity, not just current income
- The stability of each parent’s employment
- Whether a parent has flexible work hours that allow them to address the child’s needs
- Which parent can provide or maintain health insurance coverage for the child
Ultimately, the court’s focus is on ensuring the child has consistent access to necessities and medical care, regardless of which parent has primary custody.
Mental Health and Its Impact on Parenting
When evaluating a child’s best interest, courts may consider a parent’s mental health, but only to the extent it affects the parent’s ability to care for the child. Having a history of mental illness, by itself, is not a reason to limit custody or parenting time. The court’s concern is whether a mental health condition interferes with safe, consistent, and appropriate parenting.
In assessing this factor, courts may look at:
- Whether the mental health condition affects the parent’s ability to provide routine care
- The parent’s willingness to seek treatment and follow professional recommendations
- Any patterns of behavior that place the child at risk or cause emotional harm
- The overall stability of the child’s environment while in that parent’s care
The goal is not to stigmatize mental health challenges, but to protect the child’s wellbeing. Courts aim to ensure that custody arrangements support a safe, stable, and nurturing environment while recognizing that many parents with mental health histories are fully capable of providing excellent care.
History of Abuse or Domestic Violence
A history of abuse is one of the most serious factors a court considers when determining a child’s best interest. California law places a strong emphasis on protecting children from exposure to violence, even when that violence is not directed at the child. This includes both physical and non physical abuse.
Courts consider abuse committed against a wide range of individuals connected to the child or the parents. This includes abuse against:
- The child
- The other parent
- Current spouse or cohabitant of either parent
When a court finds that a parent seeking custody has committed domestic violence within the previous five years, the law creates a rebuttable presumption that awarding that parent sole or joint legal or physical custody is detrimental to the child’s best interest. This means the court must start from the position that custody should not be granted to that parent unless the presumption is overcome. To do so, the parent must present sufficient evidence showing that custody would not be harmful to the child.
Because of the weight given to abuse allegations, this factor often carries more influence than many others. Courts are required to prioritize safety above all else when crafting custody orders.
The Nature and Amount of Contact With Both Parents
When determining a child’s best interest, courts carefully examine the child’s relationship and level of contact with each parent. California law recognizes that, in most cases, children benefit from having meaningful and ongoing relationships with both parents. Judges therefore look at how involved each parent has been and how that involvement supports the child’s emotional and developmental needs.
Judges may consider:
- How regularly each parent spends time with the child
- The quality of that time and level of engagement
- Involvement in school, activities, and daily routines
- Whether the parent makes consistent efforts to stay connected
A steady pattern of positive contact generally supports continued involvement.
However, limited contact is not always a sign of disinterest. Under Family Code section 3046, courts may not penalize a parent for time away due to valid reasons, such as:
- Military service
- Necessary employment obligations
- Escaping domestic violence or abuse
In these situations, a parent’s absence does not automatically count against them.
Ultimately, the court’s focus is on ensuring that custody orders promote healthy parent child relationships while accounting for the realities of each family’s circumstances.
Substance Abuse and Its Impact on Custody
Courts may also consider whether a parent engages in the habitual or continual illegal use of controlled substances, the ongoing abuse of alcohol, or the misuse of prescribed controlled substances.
Courts focus on how substance use impacts day to day parenting. This can include missed visits, impaired decision making, unsafe living conditions, or exposing the child to harmful situations. If these patterns place the child at risk, the court may limit custody or visitation.
Before giving weight to such claims, the court may require independent corroboration, such as:
- Police or arrest records
- Medical or treatment records
- Prior court findings
- Credible witness testimony
- Drug or alcohol testing
Judges also consider whether the parent has acknowledged the issue and taken steps toward recovery. Participation in treatment, counseling, or monitoring can show a commitment to creating a safe and stable environment.
Ultimately, the court’s goal is to protect the child while encouraging responsible parenting whenever possible.
Willingness to Support the Child’s Relationship With the Other Parent
California courts place strong emphasis on each parent’s willingness and ability to support a healthy, ongoing relationship between the child and the other parent. In most cases, children benefit when both parents actively encourage connection, cooperation, and consistency. Judges therefore look closely at whether each parent fosters or undermines the child’s relationship with the other parent.
Judges may look at:
- Whether a parent follows custody and visitation schedules
- How each parent speaks about the other in front of the child
- Willingness to communicate and co parent respectfully
- Whether the parent avoids placing the child in adult conflict
A parent who encourages contact and supports shared parenting is generally seen as acting in the child’s best interest.
However, cooperation does not override safety. A judge may not consider negatively any reasonable action taken to protect the child or a parent from sexual assault or domestic violence by the other parent. Limiting contact for safety reasons is not treated as interference.
Overall, the court’s goal is to promote strong bonds with both parents while ensuring those relationships remain safe and appropriate for the child.
The Wishes of the Child
In some custody cases, the court may consider the child’s own wishes regarding custody or visitation. If a child is of sufficient age and capacity to reason and can form an intelligent preference, the court is required to consider and give appropriate weight to the child’s views when making or modifying a custody order.
Whether a child is mature enough to express a meaningful preference is determined by the judge. There is no specific age at which a child is automatically allowed to choose where they want to live. Generally, the court gives more weight to the wishes of older or more mature children.
To protect the child from conflict or retaliation, the judge typically receives this information privately and their statements are not shared with parents, attorneys, or siblings.
Ultimately, the child’s wishes are considered alongside all other factors. The court’s responsibility remains the same: to make a decision that serves the child’s best interest, even when that decision does not align with the child’s stated preference.
Stability of the Child’s Living Environment
Courts give strong weight to stability because children usually do best in homes that are safe, predictable, and consistent. Judges look at how long the child has lived in a stable environment and whether keeping that arrangement will support the child’s wellbeing.
In assessing stability, courts may consider:
- Which parent has provided a secure and reliable home
- Whether daily routines, schooling, and emotional needs are consistently met
- The overall structure and safety of each household
Judges also look at recent changes. If a parent has moved, the court may ask:
- Why the move occurred
- How often moves have happened
- How well the child has adjusted
A necessary or well planned move may carry less concern than frequent or disruptive changes.
Ultimately, the goal is to avoid unnecessary upheaval. If a child is thriving in a stable setting, courts often see preserving that stability as an important part of serving the child’s best interest.
Other Factors the Court Finds Relevant
California custody law gives judges flexibility to consider any additional factor that affects a child’s best interest. This allows the court to address real world situations that do not fit neatly into other categories but still impact a child’s safety, stability, and development.
Other relevant considerations may include:
- Whether siblings or other children are involved in related custody arrangements
- The impact of new spouses or significant others on the child’s wellbeing
- The possibility that siblings could be separated under a proposed plan
- The distance between the parents’ homes and how that affects parenting time, school schedules, and daily routines
This catch all category allows the court to address practical and emotional realities that may not be captured by other factors. The guiding question remains the same: whether the proposed custody arrangement truly serves the child’s best interest.
No single factor automatically decides custody, except in serious safety situations. Judges balance these considerations to create an arrangement that protects the child while supporting healthy development.
If you are facing a custody dispute, understanding how courts think can help you focus on what truly matters. Judges are not looking for perfect parents. They are looking for safe, stable, and child-centered solutions that serve the child’s best interest above all else.
If you want guidance on how these factors apply to your specific situation, speaking with a Child Custody Attorney can help you make informed decisions before issues escalate.
