Daohua Case Analysis | Can Psychological Assessment Results Be Used as Evidence in Determining Child Custody?

Case Summary

In the first lunar month of 2000, Wang A and Li M met and began a relationship;

In February 2002, their eldest daughter, Wang Xiaoyi, was born;

In September 2005, they registered their marriage;

In January 2011, their son, Wang Xiaoxiao, was born.

Since 2005, Wang A had continuously cheated on his wife with multiple women and had a son with one of them. Later, Li M filed for divorce in her hometown. Due to personal reasons, Li M withdrew the lawsuit.

At the beginning of 2018, Wang A took their son back to his hometown and allowed the child to live with his grandparents. Since then, Li M has been unable to contact their son.

In May 2018, Wang A filed for divorce in Shenzhen.

During the lawsuit, both parties strongly demanded custody of the child.

Case Focus

Both parties claim custody of the child. Whose custody should the child be awarded?

Lawyer's Analysis

In this case, we believe that Wang Xiaoxiao is now 8 years old and hope the court will allow the child to appear in court to express their true wishes regarding custody. However, the court believes that since the child is under 10 years old, they cannot appear in court, but will entrust relevant institutions to conduct a family observation of the child for reference in determining the child's custody wishes.

The psychological assessment results show: from the child's placement of the family board, the child hopes to be close to his grandparents, with the mother's position behind the grandfather and father.

Although we acknowledge the results of the child's family board placement, we believe that this result is only a subjective presentation of the child's current living situation. The main reason for this result is that the child currently spends different amounts of time with each family member, which does not truly reflect the child's actual needs for custody and living environment. The result that the child places his grandparents first also exactly indicates that the child's current living situation is not normal, has gradually formed a situation of grandparental custody, and the child's father is severely absent. In the daughter's interview transcript, she also repeatedly stated that it is the mother who has been taking care of her younger brother. Additionally, an interesting detail in this case is that during the child's second psychological assessment, the grandmother tightly held the child's hand, disregarding the child's desire to approach the mother, and forcibly prevented the child from interacting with the mother.

All of these indicate that the child's living situation has been severely distorted and has been unnecessarily interfered with due to the parents' divorce lawsuit.

We hope that the court, in addition to the psychological assessment results, will also look beyond the surface to understand the child's true living situation and make a judgment that is truly beneficial for the child's growth and success.

Judgment Result

The first-instance judgment awarded custody of the child to Li M, with Wang A responsible for the corresponding child support;

The second-instance judgment upheld the original judgment.

Lawyer's Conclusion

The divorce of parents inevitably brings some impact to the child. How to ensure that the child can grow up in a favorable and loving environment after the parents' divorce is a more important issue for us to pay attention to.

After going through the first and second instances, with the joint efforts of the lawyer and the parties involved, and with reasonable and well-substantiated arguments, the child will continue to live without changing their learning and living environment, and the de facto grandparental custody will be eliminated. This maximizes the protection of the interests of minors.

For a long time, the struggle for custody of the child has been a focal point in divorce lawsuits. Children are the apple of their parents' eyes, and no one wants to let their child leave them. In this situation, how to minimize the harm to the child is an issue that both parents need to consider. In addition to patience and love, it also requires the guidance of professional lawyers, truly starting from the emotional, rational, and legal aspects, and truly prioritizing the child's interests, so that the child can be as little harmed as possible.