Child Custody and Support

We know that child custody is probably the most important issue on your mind.  We understand this and will work with you to formulate a custody schedule that is in the best interest of your child.  We also understand that children are often the ones most affected by a divorce, and we try to keep them as separated from the proceedings as possible.

Sometimes situations work out that the parents can’t always have joint and equal custody of the children.  The parent’s location, the children’s activity schedules or the child’s emotional or physical safety with one parent can affect the amount of time you or the other parent can spend with that child.  It is important to know what things can influence your ability to spend time with your children, and how child support can be affected by the amount of time a court order designates for each parent.  In any situation, the child’s best interest and safety is always the most important factor.

Physical Custody:  This is the type of custody that says who will actually have the child.  So if someone has sole physical custody, this means the child will only live with this person.  If there is joint physical custody then the child or children will live with both of the parents.

Legal Custody:  This is different from physical custody because it determines who can make legal decisions for the child.  So this means decisions like which school the children attend, which pediatrician the child will go see when sick and any other decision that would require a legal guardian to sign off on.   Who has legal custody can become very important because it determines who can make some of the most important decisions in a child’s life.  Just like physical custody, most of the time parents share joint legal custody of their children.  Sometimes, both parents will have joint legal custody but one parent has teh right to make the final decision if there is a dispute.