Can a Court Consider Your Employment Situation While Deciding a Custody Case

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Iowa

I studied the laws for child custody for hours on end leading up to my trial. Never once did I come across anything that said employment (or lack of) was a factor determing custody. Yet, in my decree the judge asserts I'm "grossly underemployed" and that there is no credible evidence that would have made me the primary caregiver. Um, who else was home with the kids? Casper the Friendly Ghost? It seems as though this decision was based entirely on my lack of full time employment.

Can someone please help me understand this? I'm planning on appealing or filing for a retrial, whichever my attorney thinks would be best in this case. I just want to understand what happened. I've looked on the Public Library of Law, Google, and other places and I cannot find anywhere that this is an acceptable factor in determining custody.

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Quoting kepp81

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My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Iowa

I studied the laws for child custody for hours on end leading up to my trial. Never once did I come across anything that said employment (or lack of) was a factor determing custody. Yet, in my decree the judge asserts I'm "grossly underemployed" and that there is no credible evidence that would have made me the primary caregiver. Um, who else was home with the kids? Casper the Friendly Ghost? It seems as though this decision was based entirely on my lack of full time employment.

Can someone please help me understand this? I'm planning on appealing or filing for a retrial, whichever my attorney thinks would be best in this case. I just want to understand what happened. I've looked on the Public Library of Law, Google, and other places and I cannot find anywhere that this is an acceptable factor in determining custody.

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Your posting history suggests that there is a whole lot more to this than the decision being based purely on your employment.

Legally the court CANNOT hold your employment or lack thereof against you in determining custody. However, there are ways around this as I'm sure you've noticed.

Talk to your attorney. I'm hesitant to go further if only because your attorney knows all of the details and we don't. As I indicated, there is more to this than the employment issue.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Your posting history suggests that there is a whole lot more to this than the decision being based purely on your employment.

Legally the court CANNOT hold your employment or lack thereof against you in determining custody. However, there are ways around this as I'm sure you've noticed.

Talk to your attorney. I'm hesitant to go further if only because your attorney knows all of the details and we don't. As I indicated, there is more to this than the employment issue.

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Nothing that's stated in the decree. It's literally all about my employemnt...no joke. I was floored when I read it. This judge threw in some insults as well (he called me lazy and self-centered). Did I miss something during the trial? He also says he doesn't think I have much of a bond with my oldest child, and he did say that I wasn't forthcoming when it came to keeping in touch about the kids. What emails was he reading? She is the one that didn't respond to a majority of my questions, or respond to any attempt at coming to an agreement about custody. I do think my attorney missed an opportunity to introduce evidence proving this since what he submitted ended in late September. October is when she got really nasty in her emails to me (i.e. "I'm sick of you demanding time with the kids..." is one fine example but certainly not the only one).

In any case, there's no history of physical abuse, drug/alcohol abuse...nothing, ever. There were no restraining orders, no temporary custody orders. In fact, my attorney told me our case was incredibly boring. The judge says we communicated respectfully and pretty well, and yet not well enough I guess. To me, this is the nightmare horror story judgment you hear about but never think it will ever happen to you.

The problem I'm seeing is this:

Judges enjoy a considerable amount of discretion when making decisions in family court. Unless your attorney and yourself can show that the judge made an error of law, an appeal is likely not going to work. If the judge can articulate his reasoning, the calling on the field will stand (to throw in a football reference).

If what happened actually reflects reality, I'm in the "appalled" section right next to you.

I have to agree that there was at least ONE other factor that swayed the judge. One of the most basic and fundamental elements of custody determination is which parent has been the primary care giver, and for a judge to award custody to the OTHER parent smells of something that we're not hearing about or isn't being presented to US in the same light as presented to the COURT (intentionally or otherwise). For example, dad may have been the primary caretaker for 11 months...but how long ago were those 11 months? What happened at the end of those 11 months? Was dad the primary caretaker right up until the moment the court issued an order changing that, or was there a span of time BETWEEN being the primary caretaker, and the custody issue being litigated?

She moved out at the 11 month mark, and I still had 7 day a week contact with the kids (she even testified to that). The baby went to a daycare, but I still watched our 10 year old, getting her off to school every morning, staying with her when she came home in the afternoon. I watched both of them while she worked on Saturdays and while she went to her night class during the week (again she testified to it). I didn't live with them, I stayed elsewhere...actually at my girlfriend's house (is that the reason since I didn't have overnights until the middle of September??...in August she demanded I stop coming to her house out of the blue so I had to throw a bedroom together and I submitted pictures of it...judge made no comment as to living situation...). She did accuse me of being on a bender while in the early dating stages with my girlfriend, but provided no evidence (we did drink but never did I show up drunk, or not at all). There was a binder of evidence their side submitted, and I'm not sure what was in there. I'm not sure what there could be to have resulted in this decision. It just doesn't make any sense. Would my attorney have a copy of their evidence? I'm curious to see it, maybe it holds the answer.

The judge says I provided "significantly" to the care of the kids...

THAT really helps explain the judge's reasoning. You had BEEN the primary caretaker for a TIME. But then you ceased being the primary caretaker when she moved out and took the kids with her. Even daily contact and frequent watching of the kids still does not equate to being the primary caretaker. THAT is what the court is basing its reasoning on. When mom moved out with the kids, SHE became the primary caretaker in the eyes of the court. Had the matter come before the court BEFORE she left with the kids, you may have had a slam dunk. But now that we better understand the circumstances and a more accurate timeline, it appears that the kids are living with mom, and even with your frequent contact, she has been functioning as the most recent primary caretaker. I'm sorry to have to tell you that the court isn't going to shake up the new status quo. The kids are now settled into a new situation, and it's going to take some NEW change in circumstances before the court is going to consider opening yet another new "book" in the children's lives now that they're at least some three months into getting settled in living with mom. (And yes, living with mom now gives her all the advantage in the world, even with your high level of involvement).

I take it you and mom were not married? (Which may have REALLY been helpful to you in securing a continued role as primary care giver, as you could have asked the court to order temp custody to you to continue that role as the divorce worked thru the process.) Which one of you started the custody proceedings? And at what point? After mom left with the kids? If so, that would have been the fatal flaw.

Even in spite of over two months of two overnight stays with me during the week and every other weekend? We were married, and during our separation I was still very actively involved with 12+ hours of daily contact meaning I did the cooking (I didn't usually clean :-/), changed diapers, made dinner from time to time (which she denies of course but she did say I brought over food frequently), helped with homework. I was there in the morning before kids were awake...hmmm. I think you're probably right however I do think there is compelling evidence that she isn't going to be a very good custodial parent. My attorney failed to submit that evidence, unfortunately. I'll still get a consultation with several attorney's and see if I can muster an argument. IMHO I still can, I don't think he provided solid reasoning for denying shared physical care, or at least nights during the week.

He also imputed a severe child support payment that has no basis in reality, and which I will never ever be able to pay. And he ruled I provide all transportation, pay half her attorney's fees, and pay for health care even though they're on state aid. It sounds punitive to me, even if it does follow the law. I paid for things for the kids this whole time, albeit less than she did simply because I worked part time and had to pay my own bills. I even provided receipts (starting in September...ironically we'd verbally agreed on an amicable divorce initially...actually I even have a text message where she says we won't get divorced that she sent in August) showing that I'd paid for things like clothes and groceries (for my house as we were separated...I wouldn't expect her to buy my groceries). She testified that I paid for things, although I admit very little for the babysitter.

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kepp81;760266]Nothing that's stated in the decree. It's literally all about my employemnt...no joke. I was floored when I read it. This judge threw in some insults as well (he called me lazy and self-centered)

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well, that's not about your employment status and it is material to the decision

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Quoting kepp81

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Even in spite of over two months of two overnight stays with me during the week and every other weekend?

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Yes, even in spite of this.

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I do think there is compelling evidence that she isn't going to be a very good custodial parent.

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The problem is that the court doesn't care about what MIGHT be in the future, only what IS, today, right now. You cannot have evidence of something that hasn't happened yet. Courts can't and don't work on "what if's", or what is GOING to happen (since neither you nor the court have a crystal ball); they work on documented existing circumstances, and now that the kids have been living with mom, there is going to have to be some substantial change of circumstances, or documented abuse or neglect or other SERIOUS issue before the court is going to make a change. And, mom doesn't have to be "good" - as you'll find out, the bar for parenting is incredibly low, dismally low, sometimes even disgustingly low. She only has to be functional such that the children are sheltered, fed, clothed, not abused, etc. It sucks, but the reality you're facing now that mom has had the kids living with her for 3+ months AND has a court's order as being the primary parent. That's not going to change without some NEW factors coming into play to make the court re-assign primary status.

Which one of you filed for divorce, and did the initial divorce include a request for temp custody? What you'll find is that the parent who goes with the kids, usually keeps the kids (unless there are things like criminal activity or violence going on) because more often than not, by the time the matter gets to the court for a ruling, that passage of time benefits the parent whose roof the children have been primarily living under.