Often, when people think about child custody, they envision a heated dispute or disagreement over how custody will be split between parents. Or, they may envision a parent who is devastated to find out that they will not be able to share custody with their child’s other parent, significantly impacting their relationship with a child (or children) that they deeply love. However, in some cases, a parent may not even be interested in custody, and there are different reasons for this. It is important to keep in mind that every family is in a unique situation with respect to custody and other divorce issues.

Sometimes, a parent decides that they do not want custody because they are no longer interested in raising a child or being present in a child’s life. In fact, these attitudes can even be the cause of the breakdown of a marriage. Parents may want to shun responsibility or live life a certain way, and this can be devastating for their kids and for the other parent as well. In other instances, a parent may want to forfeit their custody rights because they will no longer be able to spend time with their kids anyway (such as someone who permanently moves to another country after their divorce, for example).

Fortunately, when one parent does not want to have custody of their child, this can make the divorce process move forward more smoothly. However, it may also leave a child’s parent with serious responsibilities and it is crucial to thoroughly look over your options if you are dealing with custody or other divorce matters.