The Best Interest of the Child

Section 4-212 explains that the state of Montana expects parents to come up with a Montana parenting plan that is in the best interest of the child. Some of the factors that the court considers, and that parents should also consider, that affect the best interest of the child include:

• the wishes of the child’s parent or parents;
• the wishes of the child;
• the interaction and interrelationship of the child with the child’s parent or parents and siblings and with any other person who significantly affects the child’s best interest;
• the child’s adjustment to home, school, and community;
• the mental and physical health of all individuals involved;
• physical abuse or threat of physical abuse by one parent against the other parent or the child;
• chemical dependency or chemical abuse on the part of either parent;
• continuity and stability of care;
• developmental needs of the child;
• whether a parent has knowingly failed to pay birth-related costs that the parent is able to pay, which is considered to be not in the child’s best interests;
• whether a parent has knowingly failed to financially support a child that the parent is able to support, which is considered to be not in the child’s best interests;
• whether the child has frequent and continuing contact with both parents, which is considered to be in the child’s best interests unless the court determines, after a hearing, that contact with a parent would be detrimental to the child’s best interests. The frequent and continuing contact should be evident in the Montana custody schedule.
• adverse effects on the child resulting from continuous and vexatious parenting plan amendment actions.

Court Order and Amendment to Parenting Plan

Section 4-219 contains the information about making an amendment to the parenting plan. Once the court has accepted a plan, it becomes a court order and the parents are legally obligated to follow it. If they parents do not follow it, for example, if a parent does not follow the Montana visitation schedule that is in the plan, they can be held in contempt of court. If a parent wants to make a change in the schedule or the plan, they must do so through the court. When a parent brings the petition to court, the court will consider whether:

• the parents agree to the amendment;
• the child has been integrated into the family of the petitioner with consent of the parents;
• the child is 14 years of age or older and desires the amendment;
• one parent has willfully and consistently: refused to allow the child to have any contact with the other parent; or attempted to frustrate or deny contact with the child by the other parent; or
• one parent has changed or intends to change the child’s residence in a manner that significantly affects the child’s contact with the other parent.