In Italy, there is a strong cultural tradition of defending the family and the participation of both parents in raising children, which has also influenced Italian legal and jurisprudential thinking. However, this family tradition has always strongly distinguished the roles of the father and mother, considering the latter more suited to caring for children in their early years. This discrimination has been encouraged by a widespread lack of interest among fathers, who are more interested in their careers or socially seen and obliged to provide for their children rather than care for them.
Co-parenting and shared custody of children of separated parents, introduced by Law 54 of February 8, 2006, established the right of children to maintain intact their relationship with both parents, despite their separation, continuing to receive care, education, and instruction from both. It also includes the right to maintain relationships with family members and relatives (mainly grandparents) on both sides of the family.
However, to function, joint parenting and shared custody require harmony between the separated parents, or at least an “armed peace” and effective collaboration between them in the best interests of their children. In the vast majority of cases, the family investigations carried out to determine child custody by my detective agency Octopus in Cassano d’Adda are designed to ascertain the status of the facts and their seriousness, before making unfounded or unsupported objections to the Juvenile Court.
Despite the tendency to reiterate the sacrosanct principle of joint parenting, the minor children of a separated couple may be entrusted exclusively to one of the two parents (Articles 337 et seq. of the Civil Code), when the Juvenile Court Judge considers that the other parent is harmful to the children or is not reliable enough to care for them.
The main circumstances in which a Juvenile Judge may choose the sole custody of the children are:
– One parent seriously fails to provide for the child’s basic needs in terms of care, health, education, and instruction.
– One parent is convicted of serious crimes involving the children and their physical and mental well-being.
– One parent has a serious addiction (alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction) that compromises his/her ability to care for children.
– One parent engages in domestic violence, especially if in the presence of minor children.
– One parent, despite being financially strong, shirks the obligations of maintenance and financial support.
– One parent suffers from a medical condition that renders him/her incapable of providing and decide for the children.
– The children refuse to be with one parent so strongly that forced contact would compromise their peace of mind. Although this is often an attitude induced by parental alienation, the Juvenile Judge and Social Services are oriented towards giving respite to minors subjected to such alienating pressures and attempting a gradual recovery.
In the case of sole custody, parental responsibility for the children does not completely cease for the person who loses custody, but the weight of this burden shifts in favor of the custodial parent, because he or she is considered more reliable, present, and suited to caring for the children. Italian legal and case law continue to strongly support the involvement of both separated parents, ensuring they share key decisions regarding the child’s upbringing, education, and health.
Sole custody allows the custodial parent to make decisions regarding the day-to-day care of the children with greater autonomy, while maintaining the obligation to share the most important decisions in their children’s lives, such as education and health. The Juvenile Judge determines the terms of sole custody on a case-by-case basis.
In some of the cases listed above, which are particularly serious due to the irresponsibility or even dangerousness of one parent towards their children, the Juvenile Judge may decide to award super-exclusive custody to the “healthy” and functional parent, i.e., the one who offers all the necessary guarantees for caring for the children.
In cases of super-exclusive custody, the parent excluded from child support does not lose their obligation to provide child support and, since these are often also lacking from an economic perspective, the Octopus private detective agency handles asset and financial investigations to secure justice in separation and divorce settlements. Conversely, a parent removed from their duties by a court order or due to misconduct by their ex-partner (such as parental alienation) is often unfairly used as a cash machine, even when the children grow up and become independent. The investigations of Octopus private detectives allow some measure of justice to be restored.
When it comes to minor children, there is no court decision that cannot be reviewed and corrected, again in court, due to changes in the circumstances and attitudes of the parties. For example, a parent excluded from custody because they are unreliable or excessively absent can always appeal to the judge to restore their relationship and regain their responsibilities towards their children, demonstrating their ability to manage them.
When separated or divorced parents cannot agree on the care of their minor children, the only solution is to appeal to the Juvenile Court. However, this appeal presents critical issues:
– Long waiting times in less serious cases; that is, a solution does not come within a few days, and a ruling in the child’s best interests could take months.
– Solomonic interventions in more serious cases; that is, the Judge may order the child’s removal to gain more time to decide.
– Unfair provisions; that is, the Judge, the Special Curator, and the Social Services supporting him/her incorrectly assess the situation, leading to unfair provisions.
Exclusive or super-exclusive custody is used when it is necessary to partially or completely exclude the participation of one of the two parents in the best interests of the children.
For a free and confidential consultation, call
or text (WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal)
at (+39) 335 77 57 613
Francesco Finanzon
Octopus Investigations – Italy
What can the Octopus Detective Agency do regarding sole custody of minor children?
In marital separations and custody disputes over minor children, the Octopus Detective Agency‘s intervention is, first and foremost, a discreet and confidential way to establish the true state of affairs and obtain legally valid evidence to achieve justice.
The application for sole or super-sole custody must be well-founded and substantiated, otherwise there is a risk of unnecessary suffering for the children involved in the dispute.
Without the evidence obtained by the private detective and the parent themselves, assisted by the Octopus Detective Agency, the disputed child risks being temporarily relocated to a foster home or a third-party foster couple.
Since child custody disputes are often driven by rivalry between ex-spouses and their desire to avenge wrongs suffered during the marriage, in the absence of evidence from a third party such as a private investigator, the Judge and Social Services are particularly cautious in clarifying the situation and slow to make a decisions.
The Octopus Detective Agency has been dealing with family investigations involving minors since 1988 and can intervene in this area at various levels:
– It trains parents and provides them with the appropriate equipment to document critical issues and child abuse from their point of view.
– It conducts observations and video recordings to demonstrate parental behaviors that are detrimental to their children.
– It reconstructs past events by gathering testimony and recovering data that prove risky behavior.
– It monitors at-risk minors to prevent their abduction.
– It conducts asset and financial investigations to obtain fair financial separation/divorce agreements, because those who shirk their parental responsibilities generally also fail to fulfill their financial obligations.
The Octopus detective agency has been dealing with family investigations involving minors since 1988.
For a free and confidential consultation, call
or text (WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal)
at (+39) 335 77 57 613
Francesco Finanzon
Octopus Investigations – Italy