There are mountains of research showing that shared parenting is the best post-divorce
custody arrangement for children, so even though you naturally want to spend as much time with them as possible, you need to recognize the importance of giving them plenty of time with the other parent.
Prior to Stahl and others deciding to tout parallel parenting as a viable
custody arrangement for children post-divorce, it generally was assumed to be harmful, and considered to be an indication of the failure of joint custody.
At the Law Offices of Molly B. Kenny, we are committed to helping parents get the best parenting plan and
custody arrangement for their children and their family.
First, when it comes to children, the research is clear: shared parenting is the best
custody arrangement for children whose parents live apart.
Additionally, the court will examine
the custody arrangement for any children, especially if there are young children preventing the requesting spouse from working, or if the requesting spouse needs time to complete an education or training program in order to rejoin the workforce.
If you and your spouse can not agree on
a custody arrangement for your children, you can hire a private mediator to help you work out a solution, or attend at least one session with a mediator provided by the county.
If you do have a joint
custody arrangement for your children, you should be sure to keep track of all the money you spend on your child's living needs.
Instead, you file court forms and a «marital settlement agreement» that details the agreements you've made about how you want to divide your property and debts, what
your custody arrangements for your children will be, and whether support payments will change hands.
The major factors taken into consideration are: The age of the child or children The number of children in the family
The custody arrangements for the child or children The income of each spouse.
The guardian ad litem must attend all court hearings and recommend appropriate services and
custody arrangements for the child, based on the facts gathered during the investigation.
The divorce process gives couples a way to dissolve the bonds of marriage, divide their property and plan
custody arrangements for their children.
Figuring out the best
custody arrangements for your children and family is best served when you don't let the legal terms confuse you.
When determining the appropriate
custody arrangement for your child, the court will base its decision on what is in the best interests of your child.
When parents decide to end their marriage, they often disagree about
custody arrangements for their children, and battles over who will retain primary custody can be an especially contentious part of divorce proceedings.
Judges treat each family as an individual unit and attempt to discern the best
custody arrangement for each child.
Speak with an experienced Massachusetts divorce mediator if you need information and guidance on creating a solid parenting plan and
custody arrangement for your child.
Not exact matches
Recent publications suggest that well - developed joint
custody arrangements are often best
for helping
children survive the impacts of divorce.
A court may consider a split
custody arrangement if one parent is financially incapable of caring
for multiple
children and splitting the
custody arrangement would enable
children in both households to receive proper care.
If the mother lives in a state that recognizes a joint
custody arrangement, then the
child's father automatically has visitation rights if the
child's mother does not specifically file
for sole
custody.
A joint
child custody arrangement may be difficult
for a
child who has to shuffle between two households on a regular basis.
Family courts across the nation generally agree that joint
custody is the best
arrangement for the
child.
If parents agree to joint
custody and ask
for it, the
arrangement will almost certainly be granted, but if the judge finds that this isn't in the best interests of the
child for some reason, he can decline the request and order a different
custody arrangement.
Sometimes it's simply too disruptive
for the
child to regularly move back and forth between parents» homes to allow
for a 50/50 split physical
custody arrangement.
An additional 9 % are fathers with sole
custody, and the remaining 4 % is split
custody with multiple -
child families and different
arrangements for each
child.
Therefore, in a joint
custody arrangement, it is important to present a unified front with
children as it will not be good
for a
child to believe he / she can use one parent against the other.
Parents whose current
child custody arrangement no longer works
for them may need to request a
child custody modification in court.
A lawyer can assist you in obtaining the right
custody arrangement for you and your
child, whether it's sole
custody or some other arrangment.
Overview of joint
custody, a relatively common
arrangement for divorced or unmarried parents in which the
child splits his or her time between the two parents» living quarters.
In shared
custody arrangements, both parents share decision making responsibility
for the
child and often split parenting time more equally.
More and more often however, parents have been pursuing shared parenting
arrangements instead of fighting
for sole
custody of the
child.
When determining the joint
custody arrangement that is best
for the
child, the court must consider:
True joint
custody arrangements are rare because of their potential to cause both personal difficulties (stress, disruption of
child's routine) and practical problems (scheduling, costs of maintaining two permanent living spaces
for the
child).
These
custody arrangements are rare, and are usually limited to situations in which one parent has been deemed unfit or incapable of having any form of responsibility over a
child —
for example, due to drug addiction or evidence of
child abuse.
Iowa law requires that the court must consider the best interest of the
child and order a
custody arrangement that will give the
child the chance
for maximum continuing physical and emotional contact with both parents after the parents have separated and dissolved the marriage, and which will encourage parents to share the rights and responsibilities of raising the
child unless physical harm or significant emotional harm to the
child, other
children, or a parent is likely to occur.
During a
child custody hearing, it is important
for a judge to understand the parents»
arrangement because the court does not want to interfere with a
custody arrangement that seems to be working.
The most common living
arrangement for children after a divorce is
for mothers to have
custody.
While it is premature to speculate on the implications of this work
for decision - making regarding
child custody, the work is valuable as it suggests that «something as basic as the amount of time that one spends with a parent or one's living
arrangements» can shape the quality of
child - parent relationships, write Fraley and Heffernan.
The stress of a divorce, with its hearings over settlements and
custody arrangements if there are
children involved, can quickly eclipse any thoughts of financial planning
for yourself.
A skilled Prince William County
child custody lawyer can help you present your case in the best light to establish the custodial
arrangement that you feel is best
for your
child or
children.
(1) the temperament and developmental needs of the
child; (2) the capacity and the disposition of the parents to understand and meet the needs of the
child; (3) the preferences of each
child; (4) the wishes of the parents as to
custody; (5) the past and current interaction and relationship of the
child with each parent, the
child's siblings, and any other person, including a grandparent, who may significantly affect the best interest of the
child; (6) the actions of each parent to encourage the continuing parent
child relationship between the
child and the other parent, as is appropriate, including compliance with court orders; (7) the manipulation by or coercive behavior of the parents in an effort to involve the
child in the parents» dispute; (8) any effort by one parent to disparage the other parent in front of the
child; (9) the ability of each parent to be actively involved in the life of the
child; (10) the
child's adjustment to his or her home, school, and community environments; (11) the stability of the
child's existing and proposed residences; (12) the mental and physical health of all individuals involved, except that a disability of a proposed custodial parent or other party, in and of itself, must not be determinative of
custody unless the proposed custodial
arrangement is not in the best interest of the
child; (13) the
child's cultural and spiritual background; (14) whether the
child or a sibling of the
child has been abused or neglected; (15) whether one parent has perpetrated domestic violence or
child abuse or the effect on the
child of the actions of an abuser if any domestic violence has occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual or between the parent and the
child; (16) whether one parent has relocated more than one hundred miles from the
child's primary residence in the past year, unless the parent relocated
for safety reasons; and (17) other factors as the court considers necessary.
Courts assume that in shared
custody arrangements each parent pays
for a considerable percentage of
child - related expenses while the kids are with them.
Our founding fathers» rights lawyer, Mark Werner, will personally handle your case based upon his over 15 years experience and help you understand your rights and your options
for pursuing a
custody arrangement that protects your
child's best interests.
Kansas judges deciding
custody cases must determine «legal
custody,» which refers to the responsibility to make educational, medical and other major decisions
for a
child, and «physical
custody,» meaning the
child's living and visitation
arrangement with the parents.
A: In North Carolina, physical
custody deals with the actual parenting schedule and living
arrangements for the
children.
Physical
custody, which means where
children reside, may be an equal and shared physical
custody arrangement where a
child's time is evenly split between two homes, or an
arrangement where the
child resides with the primary custodial parent and the visitation schedule allows
for parenting time with the non-custodial parent.
Judges have the ability to consider a
child's wishes
for custody arrangements, and may give more weight to the wishes of older
children than those of younger
children.
Such interim orders contained provisions stating that the plaintiff and the defendant shall have interim joint
custody and guardianship, that the primary address of the
children shall be the defendant's address, that
for the purpose of access
arrangements the plaintiff shall promptly inform the defendant of her monthly work schedule, and the defendant shall make efforts to ensure the
children spend equal time with both the plaintiff and the defendant and, upon receipt of such work schedule, draw a calendar setting out parenting time
for each parent
for the coming month, and that the plaintiff shall be allowed to travel to Japan with the
children from November 2, 2002 through November 18, 2002.
Similarly
for custody and access, there are a number of different resources available, everything from counseling
for the parties and the
children to parenting counselors who will assist the parties in setting up
arrangements for the kids.
Depending on the
child custody arrangement that the parties agree to when they decide to live separately, one parent may be responsible
for ensuring that they provide financial support through
child support payments to the other parent.
The type of
custody arrangement a couple agrees upon or is decided by the court can drastically affect how parents care
for their
children in the future.