Child Custody and Visitation
One of the most difficult fights for anyone involved in a family law dispute is arguably the one for the custody and parenting time of their minor children. Your relationship with your children is one of the most important things in your life and undoubtedly of chief concern during your divorce or paternity matter. You need an experienced attorney who will find practical solutions to the child custody issues that arise during your case. Your custody attorney should also educate you so that you may make informed decisions that help you achieve your custody goals and objectives.
Custody itself is divided into two categories: legal and physical. Legal custody involves what rights a parent has vis a vis their children with respect to legal decisions including health, safety and education decisions. Physical custody is about who the child lives with primarily. Custody arrangements can be a mixture of joint and physical for both legal and physical custody. For example, parents can share joint legal custody of their minor children, but one parent can have primary physical custody of the minor children. It is also possible that that one parent has sole legal and sole physical custody of the minor children.
Aside from custody is the custodial schedule, also known as parenting time. In all cases involving child custody and visitation, the parties must create a formalized written agreement about how much time each parent has with each specific child. These schedules will often include provisions regarding transportation, monitored visitation (if applicable), and holiday schedules. The more detailed the schedule, the less room there is for ambiguity and potential conflict.
Child custody and visitation agreements can be tricky and it can often be hard to determine the right balance between the parents and the children. Our firm, along with the courts and California statutes, understand that at the end of the day, the primary concern is the best interests of the children. We also understands the need to create stability for your family and the importance of a well- crafted agreement. To achieve this, we work carefully with our clients and apply our legal skills and expertise, coupled with our and personal life experiences to find the best solution for you and your children. We know that every family is different, that every relationship is different, but most importantly that any issue regarding child custody and visitation needs legal expertise grounded in real-life application.
At Nordhoff Law & Mediation, our team understands how to tailor a child custody solution to your situation and negotiate a parenting plan that is in alignment with your children’s needs and best interests.