Party Status of Children During Marital Dissolution: Child Preference and Legal Representation in Custody Decisions

This study reports the results of a survey of both attorneys and judges. The survey was designed to solicit information about their attitudes and practices relevant to the role of children in the custody litigation process. Specifically, the study addressed four major issues: (a) the importance lawyers and judges assign to representation for children in divorce cases, (b) the frequency of solicitation of the child's wishes by both attorneys and judges, (c) the relative emphasis that legal professionals place on the child's wishes when considering criteria to be employed in formulating custody decisions, and (d) clarification o f factors impacting lawyer's perceptions of the child's competence to participate in the adjudication process. Among the most striking features of these results were the lack of widespread support for routine representation of children in the custody process, as well as the fact that a majority of legal professionals failed to endorse the child's best interests as among the criteria they consider most critical in making custody decisions. In addition, a number o f factors that related to the extent to which the child's wishes were considered in the litigation process and emphasis accorded to them were identified.