What determines who gets custody of a child? The courts usually make decisions about child custody during a divorce proceeding. The choices used to be simple, the mom would get primary custody and the father would get weekend visitation. However nowadays the decision is based on what is in the best interests of the child. There are a lot of factors that determine which parent is the proper custodian of the child. Here are some of those factors.

- School and home history. Courts will want to keep the child in the same school and living in the same house as they have before.

- The parents ability to provide the necessities of life. This doesn’t mean that the richer parent gets the child, but if one cannot provide the basic needs such as shelter, food and clothing and the other parent can, the decision is simple.

- Domestic violence. You are less likely to get primary custody if you have a history of domestic violence.

- The parent who is most likely to promote their continued relationship with the other parent.