One parent can have either sole legal custody or sole physical custody of a child. Courts generally won't hesitate to award sole physical custody to one parent if the other parent is deemed unfit -- for example, because of alcohol or drug dependency or charges of child abuse or neglect. If they can do these things, the law says they have the capacity to make their own decisions. A parent will be deemed unfit if his or her child is abused. In many cases of mothers being non-custodial parents are simply due to scheduling conflicts that are the basis for the mother’s willingness to become the non-custodial parent. During a custody dispute, a parent's ability to adequately care for the child may be called into question. Test. Learn about this and more at FindLaw's Child Custody section. The specific elements of parental fitness are a matter of state law… It is easy to get wrapped up in the stress of a divorce, but making a false or reckless accusation will do more harm than good. Rather, there has to be some showing of endangerment to the child. If the issue of fitness to plead is raised, a judge is able to find a person unfit to plead. This publication provides an overview of State laws that provide the legal basis for terminating the rights of parents who have been found unfit to parent their children. Definition and explanation of physical custody, which differs from legal custody in that it involves the determination of where a child lives on a day-to-day basis. How to Prove a Parent Unfit. Determine if the parent is unfit. Competency is presumed unless there exists a reason to declare a person as mentally incompetent.There are several factors that would affect an individual’s competency to make a particular decision, a particular contractual agreement, to execute an effective deed to real property, or to execute a Will. In other words, maintain a personal relationship with the child. The Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice gives more detailed guidance on how to assess someone’s ability to make decisions. 1. A Summary of the Supreme Court's Parental Rights Doctrine: The Supreme Court's Parental Rights Doctrine is the culmination of the Court's rulings on parental rights.Up until 2000, the Supreme Court consistently upheld parental rights. For example, non-custodial parents who are mothers often encounter people who wrongfully assume the worst, thinking she is unfit or unwilling to mother her children. In most places, it is quite difficult to prove whether a person is an unfit parent, and the definition of an unfit parent is often left purposely vague. A parent with an emotional or mental instability or disability may also be found to be unfit. This is usually done based on information following a psychiatric evaluation.. Before you take any steps to have a court declare the other parent unfit, it is important that you are certain in your belief that the other parent is unfit. Find out more about the Mental Capacity Act and download the Code of Practice on the GOV.UK website. The circumstances under which the court may find that termination may not serve the child's best interests and under which a parent's rights may be reinstated also are addressed. This relationship can be maintained by allowing the parent to see, spend time with (visit or be visited) or communicate (through post, by telephone or any form of electronic communication). A mother won’t be considered unfit just because she doesn’t have a complete library of Baby Einstein DVDs. In 2000, however, the split decision in Troxel v.Granville opened the door for individual judges and States to apply their own rules to parental rights. 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