Courts don't just choose richer people to grant custody of children
After 7 years of marriage, Hung and Nga decided to divorce. The 5-year-old son became the issue that caused the two to argue the most fiercely.
Hung has a higher income than his wife, rents a spacious apartment and believes that he is capable of taking his child to a good school. Nga works in an office job, with a lower income, but since her child was born, most of the work of picking up and dropping off, taking care of, monitoring her studies and daily life is done by her.
Hung said that if he handed his child over to him, he would have better material conditions. Nga believes that what her child needs is not only a spacious room or full tuition fees, but also someone who is really by her side every day. The dispute therefore easily turns into a calculation that whoever has more money has an advantage.
But the right to raise children after divorce is not decided only by the father or mother's salary. According to the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, after divorce, parents still have rights and obligations to their children. The two parties can agree on the person who directly raises the child.
Lawyer Tran Phi Dai, Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, said that according to the provisions of Article 81 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family, if husband and wife cannot agree, the Court decides to hand over the child to one party based on the child's interests in all aspects. If the child is 7 years old or older, the child's wishes must be considered. Children under 36 months old are basically assigned to the mother to directly raise, unless the mother does not meet the conditions or the parents have other agreements.
Thus, income is part of the story, but the court does not only choose the richer person to grant custody of the child.
In child custody disputes when divorced, what is worth proving is not only how much money the wife or husband earns, but also who directly takes care of the child, what living conditions are, how education is guaranteed and what living environment is more suitable for the child.
Conversely, the person who does not directly raise the child still has the right and obligation to visit and care for the child, and must also fulfill the obligation to provide alimony. The person who directly raises the child must also not use divorce as a reason to prevent the legitimate right to visit of the other person.
How should custody disputes be resolved?
Lawyer Dai recommends that when forced to divorce, the best way is still for parents to agree with each other on the person directly raising the child, alimony and visits. If no agreement can be reached, each party needs to prepare documents proving that their actual conditions will help take better care of the child instead of just giving an income level.
More importantly, parents should avoid turning the child into a "reward" of divorce. Spoiling the other person in front of the child, forcing the child to choose or hindering visits can cause the child to suffer the consequences of adult disputes.
Therefore, when divorcing, the important question is not who has more money to raise children, but how well the child will be cared for, educated and grow up stably after their parents no longer live together.
