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37 Child. Legal Rts. J. 128 (2017)
Distributing Children as Property: The Best Interest of the Children or the Best Interest of the Parents

handle is hein.journals/clrj37 and id is 133 raw text is: Distributing Children As Property: The Best Interest Of The Children Or The Best Interest Of The Parents? By: Darya Hakimpour * I. INTRODUCTION Recognizing that half of marriages in the United States result in divorce and that almost half of children born in the United States are born out-of-wedlock,2 it comes as no surprise that child custody remains a highly debated and controversial issue within the legal field. Studies show that two out of every five children in the United States will directly feel the repercussions, familial breakdown, and dramatic lifestyle changes that stem from divorce.3 By swinging the pendulum from one extreme arrangement to the other, guidelines and presumptions regarding child custody have repeatedly gone from one failing idea to the next.4 This cyclical disaster leaves almost half of our nation's children as innocent victims who suffer the devastating consequences of a recurring legal failure.5 In many states, including California, the standard currently used to determine child custody is the best interest of the child.6 There are numerous considerations that the court may take into account when it decides what arrangements should be made for the child. These factors include: the welfare of the child, the amount of contact the child has had with each parent, and * J.D. 2016, Whittier Law School; B.A. 2012, University of California Irvine. I would like to thank Professors Erez Aloni and Deborah Forman for their support, encouragement and helpful feedback. 1 See Stephan J. Bahr, Social Science Research on Family Dissolution: What It Shows and How It Might Be of Interest to Family Law Reformers, 4 J. L. & Fam. Stud. 5, 5 (2002). 2 Michelle Castillo, Almost Half ofFirst Babies in the U.S. Born to Unwed Mothers, C.B.S. NEWS, (Mar. 15, 2013), http://www.cbsnews.com/news/almost-half-of-first-babies-in-us-born-to-unwed-mothers/. ' Bahr, supra note 1, at 5. 4 See generally Linda D. Elrod, Historical Perspective, in CHILD CUSTODY PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 1:5 - 1:7 (Westlaw 2015) (a presumption of custody for the father, then the tender years doctrine presuming custody for the mother, and finally the best interest test advocating forjoint custody). See Bahr, supra note 1, at 5. 6 CAL. FAM. CODE§ 3011 (West, Westlaw through 2016 Legis. Sess.).

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