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Child Custody Lawyers
When a couple divorces, one item the divorce decree will discuss is where the child of the divorcing couple will live. It will also outline different types of situations and circumstances in which the other parent will be able to visit the children. If you are undergoing a divorce, it is important to have a family law attorney on your side. Professional lawyers will help to work out child custody arrangements with your former spouse and their attorney, all while keeping your children’s best interests in mind.
Legal and Physical Custody
It is most common that in custody cases, physical custody is give to the one parent that the child is going to live with most often. However, typically the parent who has custodial rights will share legal custody of the child with the parent who does not have custodial rights. When a parent has legal custody, they are able to make decisions regarding their child’s health care, religion, education, and other important factors.
Joint Custody
Joint custody is when the child spends basically an equal amount of time with each parent. This is a heavily debated issue. People who are against joint custody believe it is in the child’s best interests to have one home with one parent along with plenty of visitation from the other parent. People who are for a joint custody arrangement believe that by splitting their time equally with both of their parents, the children will have less of the feeling of loss that children of divorce commonly face. Both critics and proponents of joint custody agree that it takes a high level of cooperation amongst the parents. Because of this, courts are sometimes hesitant to order joint custody unless both parents have agreed upon it and are able to make decisions together and cooperate for the sake of the child.
Split Custody
A very unpopular arrangement is split custody. Split custody is when one parent has custody of one or more of their children and the other parent has the remaining children. This is a very uncommon type of arrangement because courts do not like to separate siblings when they make custody rulings.
Unmarried Parents
If the child’s parents are not married, most states require their mother to be awarded sole custody unless the child’s father performs an action to be awarded custody. Typically, a father that is not married to the mother cannot win a custody battle over the mother if she is a good parent. The child’s father would, however, take priority over foster parents, other relatives, or adoptive parents.
Make an Appointment
Going through a divorce is tough on the entire family. When parents get divorced, their top priority is ensuring their children are as happy and well taken care of as possible. By hiring a child custody lawyer, they will share your same top priority to ensure your children’s best interests are the main focus. Contact a law firm today to schedule a consultation.
