Report No. 257
Chapter V
Considerations for Deciding Child Custody Cases
5.1 As discussed earlier, the guiding principle in child custody cases is the welfare of the child. However, it can be difficult to determine, in a given case, what specific custody or visitation arrangement would be in the welfare of the child-this standard gives little practical guidance.113 Because of this, it is important to have guidelines for judges and other decision makers on how to implement this standard. Several organizations have published standards and guidelines for conducting child custody evaluations.114 The following analysis is based primarily on states in the U.S. because they were found to have the most fully developed guidelines.115
113 Laura Woodward Tolle et al, Improving the Quality of Child Custody Evaluations : A Systematic Model 2 (Springer 2012) (noting "the lack of clarity and explication of the key standards underlying these [cases]-the best interests of the child").
114 Laura Woodward Tolle et al, Improving the Quality of Child Custody Evaluations : A Systematic Model 15 (Springer 2012).
115 A number of other countries do not have written guidelines at all (at least, not in an easily accessible form). Guidelines from U.S. states were readily available and found to address all the major issues and challenges that might arise during child custody disputes.
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