The most important of the measures to adopt when a divorce starts is that which affects the custody of the minor children of the marriage.
Currently, joint custody is the system of visits that has been imposed against the traditional one-parent exclusive custody.
But do we really know what measures the adoption of this system really implies? In this article, López Morueco Lawyers will address this issue.
When joint custody is agreed, equality is sought both in obligations and in the rights of the parents, who will spend the same amount of time with the children.
Who agrees to joint custody ?, because in case there is an agreement between the parents, they will be those who decide to apply to the joint system, whether for weeks or fortnights, if it is the parents who alternate the use of the conjugal domicile, or if it is the minors who have to change their address, etc …
In the event there is no agreement between the parties, a contentious divorce must be filed, and the judge, following a report from the Prosecutor, will decide if it is convenient to apply the shared custody regime, and the manner in which this will have to be developed. The Judge will always make this decision ensuring the child’s interest.
At the time of agreeing on joint custody, a series of requirements must be met to guarantee the proper functioning of the measure, requirements that have been identified by our highest Supreme Court on March 3, 2016 (JUR 2016 52409):
- The permanence or not of the children in a stable domicile, and the distance between the domiciles of the parents;
- making decisions about their education, health and care;
- duties related to custody;
- periods of coexistence with each parent;
- relationship and communication with them and relationship regime with their siblings, grandparents or other relatives and close relatives, some of them closer to the care of the children than the parents themselves;
- accreditation of the previous practice of the parents in their relationships with the child and their personal aptitudes;
- the wishes expressed by the competent minors;
- the number of children;
- the fulfillment on the part of the parents of their duties in relation to the children and the mutual respect in their personal relationships.
Ruth López Morueco.
Lawyer at López Morueco Lawyers.
Lawyers in Torrevieja & Orihuela Costa.
Do not hesitate to contact us: https://abogados-solicitors-torrevieja.com/en/contact/