A. The child's welfare
B. The best interests of the child
C. No presumption or inference between parents.

Statutory Factors (Va. Section 20-107.2(1)

A. Age of the child
B. Physical Condition of Child
C. Mental Condition of Child
D. Age of each parent
E. Physical condition of each parent
F. Mental condition of each parent
G. The relationship existing between each parent and each child
H. The needs of the child
I. The role which each parent has played, and will play in the future, in the upbringing and care of the child
J. Such other factors as are necessary to consider the best interests of the child

Parental Morals

A. adultery
B. homosexual
C. can't punish bad morals

Wishes of child

Relocation issues

A. The Law Court may permit or prohibit the custodial parent removing the child from the state whichever is in the best interests of the child.

B. Factors to consider

i. The controlling factor is the best interests of the child.

ii. The non-custodial parent's devotion to the child is not the issue.

iii. The issue is whether the benefit of the relationship with the non-custodial parent can continue after the move out of state.

iv. The increased difficulty in maintaining the parental relationship alone is not sufficient to deny a custodial parent the freedom to choose where he/she and the child will live.

MORE FACTORS:

- Each parent's sense of responsibility

- Each parent's mental stability

- Each parent's overall maturity

- Need to keep child with mother

- Need to keep child in a two-parent home

- Parent's willingness to afford other parent close contact with child

- Parent's inability to separate interpersonal difficulties from parenting

- Amount of anger and bitterness between parents

- Geographic proximity of parental homes

- Child's behavior at school both academically and personally

- Sex of child

- Each parent's previous child care taking involvement

- Influences of extended family members

- Flexibility of parent's work schedule

- Parent's economic stability

- Type of day care available for child

- Number of children in the family

- Marital status of parents

- Differences between parent's religious beliefs and/or practices

- Economic & physical similarities and differences between parental homes

- Child's bonding with each parent

- Which parent primary caretaker before divorce

- Which parent primary caretaker after divorce

- Which parent exhibits better parenting skills

- Which parent is more tolerant of other parent visits

- Is either parent involved in sexual relationship that impacts on child

- Which parent resides in child's current school zone

- Which parent was primary disciplinarian

- Either parent cohabitating with someone to whom not married

- Which parent involved in child's schooling

- Must analyze circumstances of both parents and children-negative and positive

- Which home will provide children with greatest opportunity to fulfill their potentials as individuals and members of society

In determining the suitability of the respective homes, it depends largely on warmth, stability and the general nature of home life, taking into consideration the following:

1. Respective work schedules, home environments and arrangements of the care of the children during the parent's absence;

2. Location of home to church, school and other institutions;

3. Moral climate in which children are to be raised is an important consideration.

4. Where wife's failure to establish home with a child may well have been due to the husband's failure to provide her support and for the support of the child, the order of custody to the father should be reconsidered.

5. Home suitability is not determined simply by comparing physical property or material advantages. The court is more interested in the warmth of the home environment, the kind of home life the child can be expected to experience.

6. You need a definite plan as to how a parent would take care of the children. Where one parent did not see the children or seek custody for an extended period of time after separation and where the children live with the parent and are well adjusted and happy and express a desire to remain with that parent, a transfer of custody would not be appropriate.

7. Everything else being equal, mixing children of different families should be avoided where possible since in such homes jealousy and other problems often develop.

8. Character and habits a person seeking custody must show to be such that provision for child's comfort and moral development can be reasonably expected.