I have had some legal problems in the past. Will this affect my chances of being awarded child custody?

Under the custody rules in every state, the court aims to make a custody determination based on what is in the best interests of the child. Usually, this means giving at least shared custody to each parent, because it is rarely in a child's best interests to be 100 percent cut off from one parent or the other. When the court makes their custody decision and decides on the shared custody or sole custody arrangement, they will look at many different factors to determine what the best interests of the child are. Your past legal problems could be one of these factors, but it really depends on the situation. 

The past legal problems will:

• Have a much greater effect if they were legal problems that reflect directly on your ability to care for a child. If you were abusive or neglectful to your child or you were charged with domestic violence, this is going to hurt you much more than an unrelated criminal record for something like burglary. 
• Have a much greater impact if they were recent. If you were arrested for stealing a car and taking it for a joy ride in college and that was 15 years ago, the court probably won't give much weight to that when deciding if you are a fit parent and if it is in your child's best interests to live with you. Of course, if you just got out of prison for armed robbery last month, then this is going to be a much more serious concern for a court who might not want to expose a child to criminal behavior.

If you have past legal problems and you want to get custody, your best bet is to contact a lawyer. Your attorney can help you to take steps to prove to the court that your legal problems shouldn't impact your right to your kids.