In a Custody Lawsuit, a court will determine the legal custody and physical custody of a child. Legal custody refers to the right to make important decisions about the child’s welfare, such as decisions about education, medical care, and religious upbringing. Physical custody refers to where the child will primarily live and the parenting time schedule for the non-custodial parent.
Custody lawsuits can be complex and emotionally challenging for all parties involved. It is important to understand the legal process and to be prepared for the potential outcomes.
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Hire a Child Custody Lawyer for the benefit of the children. It is usually better for the parents to try and work out all issues involving custody and visitation. If the parties should not be able to come to an agreement the court will and does step in to consider the best interest of the children. The court will usually order either:
- Sole custody: where one party has responsibility for the care and control of the children and authority to make all decisions concerning the welfare of the children.
- Joint custody: consists of three types of arrangements; joint legal, where the parents are jointly responsible for the care and control of the children with joint decisions making ability; joint physical custody, where the parents share the physical custody of the children; and any combination of the joint legal and joint physical custody.
- Shared custody: consists of the parents willing to share the custody, childcare, and decisions concerning the children. The court considers it shared custody when each parent has physical custody of the children for more than 110 days of the year.
- Split custody: this arrangement happens when there is more than one child in the family and each parent has primary or sole custody of one or more of the children.
Once custody/visitation has been determined, it will not be modified unless there is a material/substantial change in the circumstances that has taken place since the last court order and of course, it is in the best interest of the child. The courts hesitate to change custody unless you can show that there exists a current condition that adversely affects the child.
Need assistance with working out all the details of your Child Custody Case? Contact Montgomery, Kelley, & Dennett today and learn more about your options. Call Now! 757.229.8284