Family Court: Experts debate effectiveness of various custody arrangements

      Under Nevada law, judges must consider only the best interest of the child when determining a custody arrangement.
      "If it appears to the court that joint custody would be in the best interest of the child, the court may grant custody to the parties jointly," the law states.
      The same statute prohibits judges from giving preference to either parent "for the sole reason that the parent is the mother or the father of the child."
      Although Clark County officials keep no statistics regarding custody decisions, research in other areas shows that mothers end up with primary physical custody of their children more often than fathers.
      In a 1968 decision, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that a change of custody is warranted only when "the circumstances of the parents have been materially altered" and "the child's welfare would be substantially enhanced by the change."
      But a state law, passed after that decision, states that if joint custody is the existing arrangement, a judge need not find that circumstances have been altered -- only that the child's best interest requires a modification.
      Parents often opt to share joint legal custody of their children, even when one parent has primary physical custody.
      Joint legal custody typically requires both parents to consult and cooperate with each other in questions relating to their children's religious upbringing, educational programs and health care.
      In addition, such arrangements usually require the parents to share copies of class programs, report cards, samples of school work, notices of activities involving the children and requests for school conferences.
      Experts have mixed opinions on joint physical custody, also known as shared custody. This arrangement usually allows parents to spend approximately equal time with their children.
      Family Court Judge Fran Fine said shared custody succeeds only when both parents work together for the best interest of their children.
      Ernest del Casal, executive director of Equal Rights for Divorced Fathers, advocates such arrangements, which he said are becoming more common throughout society because of changes in gender roles.
      "And I believe it is more common in Las Vegas because of the lifestyle," he said. "You have 21 dealers married to 21 dealers, and each of them makes about the same, and they don't have to work the same shifts, so it may be easier for each of them to have the child part of the time."
      Del Casal said some people accuse fathers of seeking joint or primary physical custody to avoid paying child support.
      "You can tell those people when they come in and they say, 'That's it. I want the kid 50 percent of the time. How do I get that?' without even considering whether they have the time to give the child, whether the child is available half the time without wrecking the child's school schedule and life," he said. "The agenda in those cases is something other than the child's interests, and sometimes it's because they don't want to pay a dime."
      Del Casal said he believes judges usually recognize such ulterior motives and rule accordingly. He said he tries to discourage this type of litigation by giving fathers realistic expectations.
      "If you have the child half the time and pay your share of clothing and food and toys and everything else, you are going to spend more on the child than your support payment would have been," he said.
      Del Casal said physical custody arrangements tend to work best when they allow parents to spend the same amount of time caring for their children as they did before splitting up. Those cases rarely return to court, he said.
      Attorney Rhonda Mushkin, who practices family law exclusively, disagrees with those who favor shared custody.
      Mushkin said judges who choose that option are putting the wants of the parents over the best interest of the child.
      "I don't think appeasing the litigants is their job. Creating stability for the children is," the lawyer said. "And shared custody doesn't do it. These kids always have a psychological suitcase packed."
      Mushkin said shared custody benefits parents by allowing both the mother and father to spend significant amounts of time with their children, but "more often than not" it hurts the children.
      "I don't find that children like the flip-flopping," she said. "They would prefer to know where they are going to sleep every night. They often say, 'Why doesn't the judge ask us what we want?` "
      Mushkin said parents often contribute to the problems involved in shared custody.
      "People get divorced because they can't get along," she said. "And when you put them in a situation where they have to co-parent and be considerate of each other and try to parent consistently, that's what they already couldn't do, more often than not."
      According to the September 1996 report of the U.S. Commission on Child and Family Welfare, more than half of all children will live in a home with only one parent sometime before reaching adulthood.
      "Although many single parents provide the nurturing and support that help their children succeed in life, the evidence is clear that most children do best when they receive emotional and financial support from both parents," the report states.
     A.D. Hopkins contributed to this report.