Re: Custody
Theodora Glime
The first page of this guide explains the parent-child relationship in general. It has information about custody suits, known as "Suits Affecting the Parent Child Relationship" (SAPCR). The next pages of the guide contain information on child custody and child support.
If parents divorce, the law presumes that the parents should be "joint managing conservators." This means that they would share decision-making responsibilities about a child. It does not necessarily mean that their time would be evenly split between parents.
In order to get a court order for child support, custody, or visitation, you will need to file a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, or SAPCR ("sap sir"). The links below will explain the process and provide forms for filing your SAPCR.
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Often, it helps parents and children to have a set schedule with the dates and times that the children will be with each parent. The schedule can include holidays, special occasions (like birthdays, mother's day, father's day, and other important dates for the family), and vacations.
These orders are open-ended. They allow the parents to work it out between them. This type of plan can work if parents get along very well, can be flexible, and communicate well. But, if you disagree, not having a set schedule can create problems.
There are different types of cases and papers you can file to ask for a child custody and visitation (parenting time) order. Which type of case or papers you can file depends on your situation, like whether you and the other parent are married or you already filed a family law case.
Your options to respond, the forms you use to respond, and any deadlines you need to meet depend on which forms you were given. The forms should have a form number in the upper right or left-hand corner. Get step-by-step instructions to respond to:
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken some actions to address the data collection and reporting requirements in the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 (DCRA). For example, DOJ has collected and published data on deaths in federal law enforcement custody and collected similar data from states.
While states across the U.S. and DOJ have undertaken multi-year efforts to collect death in custody data, DOJ told us it has not studied these data for the purposes of addressing the study and reporting requirement in DCRA. Specifically, DOJ officials told GAO in September 2022 that they had not studied the state data, in part, because the data were incomplete. GAO compared fiscal year 2021 records that states submitted to DOJ to publicly available data and identified nearly 1,000 deaths that potentially should have been reported to DOJ but were not. Also, GAO found that 70 percent of the records provided by states were missing at least one element required by DCRA, such as a description of the circumstances surrounding the individual's death or the age of the individual (see figure).
DOJ has taken some steps to assess the quality of the data states submitted. However, as of August 2022, DOJ had not finished assessing the quality of the data collected from states, and had not determined whether states complied with DCRA. Further, DOJ has not developed a detailed implementation plan that includes metrics and corresponding performance targets for determining state compliance, or roles and responsibilities for taking corrective action. DOJ has previously acknowledged that determining compliance could help improve the quality of state death in custody data. Developing an implementation plan would better position DOJ to meet this goal, or take corrective actions if its current approach does not fully succeed.
Finally, even if these data were of sufficient quality, DOJ is not required by DCRA to publish state death in custody data and, as of September 2022, had no plans to do so. Absent congressional direction to help ensure that any future state data collected are utilized beyond the required study, DOJ and states may continue to use resources to compile a national dataset that may not be used to help inform practices to reduce deaths in custody.
This statement discusses (1) actions DOJ has taken to address the data collection and reporting requirements in DCRA, and (2) the extent to which DOJ has studied and used data collected from states to help reduce deaths in custody.
This statement is based on GAO's December 2021 report on DOJ's efforts to collect and publish data on law enforcement's use of force ( GAO-22-104456 ) as well as additional audit work conducted from May 2022 through September 2022. To conduct the prior work, GAO reviewed laws and relevant DOJ documents, and interviewed DOJ officials. For the additional audit work, GAO reviewed DOJ documentation, interviewed DOJ officials, and assessed the reliability of data that DOJ collected from states.
GAO recommends Congress consider requiring DOJ to utilize any future state data for recurring study and reporting to Congress and the public. In addition, GAO is making one recommendation to DOJ to develop an implementation plan to determine state compliance with DCRA.
National and state banks and thrifts have long provided safekeeping and custody services, including both physical objects and electronic assets. The OCC has specifically recognized the importance of digital assets and the authority for banks to provide safekeeping for such assets since 1998. In the letter published today, the OCC concludes that providing cryptocurrency custody services, including holding unique cryptographic keys associated with cryptocurrency, is a modern form of traditional bank activities related to custody services. Crypto custody services may extend beyond passively holding "keys."
"From safe-deposit boxes to virtual vaults, we must ensure banks can meet the financial services needs of their customers today," said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian P. Brooks. "This opinion clarifies that banks can continue satisfying their customers' needs for safeguarding their most valuable assets, which today for tens of millions of Americans includes cryptocurrency."
The OCC also recognizes that, as the financial markets are increasingly digitized, the need will increase for banks and other service providers to leverage new technology and innovative ways to serve their customers' needs. By doing so, banks can continue to fulfill the financial intermediation function they have historically played in providing payment, lending, and deposit services.
Today's opinion applies to national banks and federal savings associations of all sizes and is consistent with a number of states which have already authorized state banks or trust companies to provide similar functions.
You may only file to change custody if a custody order has already been issued by the Court. If you have not been to the Court before regarding custody, please see the Custody Instruction Pages.
When parents get divorced, the issue of child custody is usually one of the thorniest problems they have to deal with. Where will their kids live? How much time will each parent get with their children? Who will make the important decisions about the children's lives?
These questions are related to the two main types of custody: physical custody and legal custody. Within each of those categories, there are two basic ways of breaking down custody arrangements: sole custody and joint (or shared) custody. To mix things up even more, some states use terms like "parenting plans" when referring to the arrangements for physical custody or both physical and legal custody.
Regardless of the type of child custody, it's an overriding principle that judges must focus primarily on the children's best interests. But states have their own rules about what goes into deciding which custody arrangements would be in a child's best interests.
When you have sole legal custody of your children, you have the right to make all child-related decisions without consulting the other parent. But if you want sole legal custody, you'll have to convince the judge that it would be in your kids' best interests. That might be the case when, for example:
As a practical matter, when one parent is the children's primary caregiver, that parent will often make many of the day-to-day decisions, such as authorizing emergency medical treatment or making routine doctor's appointments. If you and your spouse are working out a parenting agreement before or during the divorce process, you can include details about how you'll communicate and include each other in these decisions, as well as how you'll deal with future disagreements. For example, you might include a provision that if you and your spouse disagree about medical treatment, you'll follow the advice of the child's doctor.
In addition to the stress and animosity that these legal fights can cause, they'll probably be expensive if you've had to hire a lawyer. And in the worst-case scenario, the judge might decide to award sole legal custody to your ex and to change your physical custody arrangements.
Physical custody refers to the right of parents to live with and take care of their children on a daily basis. As with all custody decisions, judges must consider which physical custody or parenting arrangement would be in the children's best interests.
When awarding sole physical custody, judges will usually allow the noncustodial parent a certain amount of visitation time. Even if the noncustodial parent might pose a danger to the kids, the judge may allow visitation with conditions like requiring supervised visitation or drug tests.
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