Income of Husband Lower Than Wife: Not Granted Child Custody in Divorce?

Clause 2, Clause 3 Article 81 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family stipulates the custody of children upon divorce as follows:

- The husband and wife agree on who will directly raise the child, and the obligations and rights of each party towards the child after divorce; in case of disagreements, the Court will decide to assign the child to one party to directly raise based on the child's overall benefits; if the child is 07 years old or older, the child's wishes must be considered.

- A child under 36 months of age will be assigned to the mother for direct custody, except in cases where the mother is not capable of directly caring for, nurturing, and educating the child, or if both parents have another agreement that is in the child's best interest.

The determination of custody rights is based on the child's age and the conditions of the parents to directly care for, nurture, and educate the child.

In the case your child is 5 years old, the determination of custody will be based on the conditions for directly caring for, nurturing, and educating the child by the parents. The one with better conditions will be given custody.

Conditions to consider include: Economic conditions (income from salary, business activities,...), accommodation, time to care for the child, ways of educating the child,...

Thus, the Court will comprehensively consider the parents' conditions to decide custodial rights. The fact that you have a higher salary than your husband does not necessarily mean you will automatically be granted custody, but it will be an advantage for you in proving your conditions to raise the child.

Sincerely!