Tips On Choosing The Right Custody Or Visitation Plan For Your Family

Posted on July 30, 2013 by About The Children LLC — Leave a comment

Custody vs. Visitation

A lot of parents starting a family law case about the children often have questions about child custody and/or visitation, what they mean, what the best options are and what they’re chances of obtaining either one in the court room. It’s important to remember that in all these cases, the context of the situation and the unique circumstances of each case are what determine the overall outcome of your divorce and custody dispute. If you’ve never gone through court before, you might have some assumptions about what goes on in the court room and how to be prepared; some of these assumptions may be incorrect. Here are a couple tips and useful information for parents starting the process of going to court to enforce their rights are parents.

Know What You’re Asking For. It doesn’t make any sense to walk into the court room and ask for something unreasonable. For example, it will reflect negatively on you if you haven’t seen the child in six years or haven’t really been in their life as a substantial parental figure and you petition the court for full custody. Odds are you’re going to have a hard time getting a judge to grant this, unless the circumstances are extreme such as the death of the other parent or an abusive situation. It also will do you a lot of good to do a little reading up on this stuff before you go filing papers and throwing money around at the problem. Knowing the different between full legal and full physical custody and what each of those options entails, will help you make a more education decision about the issue of custody or visitation in family law.
Weighing Your Options. When you’re trying to figure out what the best course of action is, looking at all the facts of your situation will aid you in making the best decision for your children and yourself. So what kind of stuff matters in a case like this? Things like how far away from the child or the other parent are, your employment or housing status, ability to provide everything your child needs for school etc. will matter to the judge in coming to a decision about this. If you’re job requires you to be on the road for days at a time, you need to get a custody schedule that works best for that kind of situation. The ideal situation for parents that are separated is a 50/50 kind of situation wherein you and the mother or father of the child half an equal stake in this child’s life. This requires both of you to come together about decisions concerning visits to the doctor, school meetings, after school activities etc. This allows for everyone to work together despite the differences that initially separated both parents in the first place.

When taking any path in family law, petitioning the court for a custody or visitation schedule that’s in the best interests of the child is of the utmost importance and the judge’s decision will reflect this. Studies, and common sense, show that a child needs both parents in their life to have a proper upbringing. It makes sense that if it took two of you to make the child, then it should take two of you to raise the child. The goal should not be to eliminate a parent from the child’s life unless it is absolutely necessary. Talk to a local attorney or parental rights organization that can help you make the decision you can for your children’s well-being.

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