Child custody advice is one of the first things people seek when looking to get divorced. Most of the time, your attorney will be your main source of information. The problem is that family law attorneys are so used to dealing with these issues, they fail to cover some of the most basic and vital child custody advice with you. See, they just assume you already know them. Problem is, most people don’t.
So, here’s what you need to know.
Fact 1. The family law courts base their decisions on what they feel is in the best interest of the child. While this is fairly common knowledge, what they tend to leave out is that past precedent is extremely important in this equation.
Basically, whatever you allow to happen with your children, will probably be allowed to happen in the future. Courts do not like changing a child’s routine. Especially something that’s been in place for a long time.
You especially need to keep this child custody advice in mind during temporary custody proceedings. Courts can drag their feet for months. If you sign a temporary order that allows your spouse split custody, for instance, odds are extremely high that the courts will extend that into the permanent order.
Fact 2. Another overlooked piece of child custody advice is that family courts hear he said/she said testimony all day long. You should really try and get third party verifiable proof whenever possible. This could be your child’s teacher, pediatrician, police, neighbors – the less personal relationship they have with you, the better.
Should you have to go to court, these make the best child custody witnesses because they are viewed as impartial third parties.
Fact 3. Don’t get too hung up on the terminology – sole custody rights, primary physical custody, joint custody – these terms aren’t nearly as important as what is spelled out in your parenting agreement.
For instance, if you have joint custody but your parenting agreement states that the mother decides where the children go to school, then that is what’ll happen. Don’t waste time arguing about the words used – make sure your parenting agreement states exactly what you want.
By: Joan Baker
Divorce is an extremely traumatic process involving a lot of mental strain and extended financial burden. It is a major decision that individuals should take in their life after weighing all the pros and cons. It also involves other critical issues pertaining to the splitting of the marital relationship such as child custody, child visitation rights, child support payments and the distribution of property between the couple.
Law is an academic and theoretical discipline and the success of a lawyer depends on the practical application of legal theory and knowledge to solve real problems. Good lawyers are those who can do this effectively and protect the interests of their client. The best divorce lawyers are invariably those who have earned a reputation by consistently securing their client’s legal rights in various divorce cases.
In the United States, there are many reputed divorce lawyers in various towns and cities who are specialists in handling divorce cases in the jurisdiction of their respective states. The best way to decide which divorce lawyer to use is by finding out from former clients. Some divorce lawyers have more success at satisfying their clients than others. The best lawyers strive to help their clients through difficult emotional and legal challenges that often accompany family law issues.
For best long-term results, the best attorneys advise patience, negotiation, and working within the system. A few well-known law firms that have earned a reputation in handling divorce cases are mentioned below. Rager and Noiroux, LLP, located in Irvine, California, are a firm of lawyers who are known to provide assertive, experienced legal representation to clients throughout Orange County and all of Southern California in a range of practice areas. They have special expertise in family law. The Law Offices of Patricia A. Hendrickson, located in Huntington Beach, California, focuses exclusively on Family Law in Orange County. The law firm of Magnuson Lowell, P.S. has been serving its clients throughout Washington, including Seattle, Puget Sound, Bellevue, and Redmond. The above names are a few, of the many renowned legal practitioners in the United States.
By: Kent Pinkerton
What is a family law attorney and why are they necessary? It is even more crucial you are familiar with these experts of family law since it seems strong families are becoming less and less in our modern day.
Here is a fact that is unfortunate but all to often becomes reality in 2010. When a mother and father gets a divorce and the family is divided the costs go way up. When all home expenses are shared by the man and woman the burden of making a living is also shared.
After a divorce everyone’s standard of living is lowered due to the fact that two separate households, versus one, has to be maintained. The state courts are then given the duty, unfortunately, of dividing the resources that used to support one family unit into two parts.
Its usually impossible to do this equally because many things the couple owned together cannot be simply cut in half. For instance a home cannot be sawed in half thus enabling each former spouse to get a half of it. This especially is true when there are children involved. The needs and expenses of the children involved changes from each passing year. The costs involved in raising elementary aged kids are much lower than the costs in raising teenagers.
In addition to that problem the circumstances of the adults involved changes. The income of the person ordered to pay child support or alimony, be it the father or mother, can drastically go up or down as time goes on.
And we have not even touched the issue of child custody including outlining visitation rights. With the divorce rate as high as it is in 2010 it does not take a genius to wonder why family law courts are always packed and system is overloaded. It is impossible to navigate all the courts, red tape, and legal documents with the help of an expert who deals with those things for a living.
Hopefully you understand the reason why a family law attorney at law is necessary when dealing with these sticky situations. These types of attorneys specialize in the field of law that deals with all family related issues and relations of the domestic nature. These fields include anything having to do with marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships, abuse, legitimacy, adoption, divorce, marriage annulment, alimony, and child support payments.
The better they are familiar with each subject the better they are at winning the case (though really nobody ever wins when it comes to these types of cases). Many family law attorneys specialize in a niche somewhere within this giant field that gets bigger every year. One family law attorney will likely be more adept at marriage contracts than divorce proceedings. Another one might be excellent at property division while another attorney in the same general field will excel in nullity.
Depending on your needs it is a good idea to ask a prospective family law attorney what he or she focuses on and decide if that area of expertise is what you require.
Hopefully you never need a family law attorney but if you do you now know exactly what they do and how you can use them.
By: Wesley A Barras
