Divorce can be ugly. A family lawyer knows that even the friendliest divorces can suddenly become acrimonious. When you add a contentious custody battle to the mix, it is no surprise that many people feel they are at war during these times.

Unfortunately, many divorcing couples develop a “winner take all” attitude and instead of peaceful negotiations, the process can quickly become a constant state of intensity. It is critical during these times to remember that when it comes to custody, you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse need to stay focused on what will be in the best interest of your child. Save your battling for property division but try to work together to come up with a cohesive parenting plan.

There are several common behaviors that parents engage in a custody fight make. The court may consider these behaviors so egregious that any one of these can actually affect the court’s decision and you could lose parenting time because of it.

Never Deny the Other Parent Access to Your Child

When a parent purposely restricts the other parent’s parenting time, the courts consider that parental interference. One of the key components the court looks at is whether or not each parent is willing to help foster the child’s relationship with the other parent. If a parent is unable to do that, the court could restrict their parenting time and limit their custody.

Never Let Angry Feelings Against Your Spouse Take Priority Over Your Child’s Needs

It doesn’t matter to the court why your marriage is ending or how angry you are at your spouse for the things that they did to you. The only thing they are concerned about is the well-being of your child. This is why you should never bad-mouth your spouse in front of your child or force them to choose sides. This also applies to social media postings. Ranting about your spouse on your Facebook page can actually be used against you and have a negative impact on your custody case.

Never Move or Change Jobs Unless There Is Good Cause

Moving to a different area because of a job change or any other reason is never a good move, especially if you have primary custody of the child. There are some exceptions, such as an extraordinarily good career offer. But if you are moving just so it will make it harder for your ex to have parenting time with your child, it could actually backfire and he or she could end up with primary custody. Forcing your child to change schools, leave friends, and routines because you don’t want the other parent to have close access will not be looked at kindly by the court.

Never Refuse to Cooperate with Your Co-Parenting Because of Contentious Feelings

No matter how intense the battle between you and your ex gets on the legal field, do not let those feelings seep into your co-parenting. Just because you are angry at your spouse, do not use this as an excuse not to communicate information about your child’s school and extracurricular activities. You may think you are punishing the other parent by not telling them about the school’s science fair, but the one who bears the brunt of the punishment will be your child.

Contact a Divorce Law Firm Today

If you are ending your marriage, call an experienced attorney, like a family lawyer from a law firm like Winfrey Law Firm, PLLC.

When your marriage starts to fall apart, your children’s well-being becomes a top priority. You want to make sure they are safe, happy and maintain some sense of normalcy through the process. But if you and your spouse can’t agree on child custody arrangements, it can be challenging to come up with a solution that works for everyone.

Family law can be complex, and if you’re not represented by an experienced family lawyer, you could end up losing everything.

Here are five tips provided by our friends at Greenberg Law Offices that will help you win child custody:

1. Don’t talk about the other parent in front of the kids. 

They love their parents and should be allowed to feel free to express those feelings without being fearful or ashamed of doing so. Any negative comments made by either party towards the other parent in front of the children can seriously damage their relationship with both parents. It is important to remember that children get caught between parents who are divorcing and may feel pressure from one or both parents to choose sides. Although this approach does not work for everyone, some families have found it beneficial for both parents to remain living together in the same house through the divorce process until custody has been decided upon.

2. Make Sure That You Have a Solid Case. 

Family law is all about evidence, so make sure that you have plenty to back up your claims. This includes documentation such as medical records, school transcripts, and anything else that can support your argument.

3. Ask for Help from Friends and Family

It is normal for friends and family members to testify on your behalf about what kind of person you are as a mother/father. They can also testify about what type of person your ex is as well, especially if they are considered an unfit parent.

4. Stay Organized

This is especially important if you have a contested custody case. Make sure that you keep track of all court dates, documents, and correspondence.

5. Hire an Experienced Lawyer. 

Hiring a qualified family lawyer is essential in order to increase your chances of winning child custody. A great family lawyer should have years of experience helping clients win their cases. They need to know what it takes to succeed in family court, and are able to help you every step of the way.

Reasons To Enforce Your Child Support Arrangement

So your divorce is final, and your child support order is in place. You are living your life post-divorce. But in life, circumstances change often. You may encounter reasons to revisit your child support agreement. Whether you are paying or receiving support, there are several moving parts in how the court calculates child support. 

There are some situations where you can file in court for child support modification by yourself. But in any legal case, it is always advisable to get the counsel of wise family law lawyers, such as the lawyers of The Law Office of Daniel J. Wright.

If you want a judge to review your request to change child support, a significant change in your circumstances must occur. Reasons to request child support modification can include:

• Decrease of Income – The court considers it a significant change if the payer of child support loses his or her job, or suffers a significant decrease in income
• Increase in Income – If your ex-spouse receives a substantial boost in income or net worth, you may be eligible to decrease your financial obligation because the other party now has the means to contribute a larger portion to child expenses. Typically, this occurs when an ex-spouse goes back to work or receives a substantial, life-changing inheritance or financial settlement.
• Increase in Expenses – Children’s needs change. As children get older, their expenses can increase for a variety of reasons, such as medical expenses, private school tuition, sports costs, etc.
• Change in Custody Split – If custody terms are modified and you now have the children significantly more or less than previously, there is a good chance the judge would grant a change in child support amounts.
• Child Turns 18 – Child support typically ends when a minor child reaches age 18, or graduates from high school, whichever is later. If your child turns 18 before high school graduation, hopefully, that was written into your original child support agreement. If not, you will likely need to file for a modification in the court order. In most cases, it is stipulated in the court documents that support ends automatically when the child reaches legal adulthood, and no further action on your part is needed to stop support payments.
• Remarriage or more children – If one parent remarries or has additional children, they often put a motion before the court to decrease child support to the original children in order to have more resources to divide amongst all children. Remarriage doesn’t always trigger a need for change, but it usually does affect that parent’s income. If you’re the receiving parent and you remarry, a judge may reduce your child support amount because your household has more income. But this is not always the case because child support is the child’s right, not the parent’s right.

Whatever your individual circumstance, any time you think that it is warranted to request child support modification, you should consult an experienced family law lawyer. We know the law and have your best interests at heart. Moreover, we can ensure that your rights are asserted.

Undergoing a divorce is going to be challenging, even under the most ideal and cooperative circumstances. When kids are involved, it complicates the matter even more so. Of course, most parents want to be part of their child’s life. This is why fighting for child custody is so important, as there are things you can do prior to and during the court case to get the best chances possible of an outcome you hope for. The one thing to keep in mind is that the judge’s focus will be on what is for the best interest of the child. If you are preparing for a child custody case, consider these tips:

Show you are engaged and responsible.

You can’t change behaviors or choices from the past, but you can begin anew and position yourself as an engaged and dutiful parent. In an ideal situation, you will have done this long before the child custody case, as that shows you truly are genuine about changing unhelpful personality patterns. 

It’s understandable that you may be struggling with emotions such as anxiety, fear, shock, and betrayal, as the other parent may be more or less collaborative with you on establishing child custody. Parents are allowed to write child custody terms themselves, but it will have to be officially approved by the court. 

Create a peaceful and suitable home

The judge handling your child custody case needs to see that the living arrangements you can offer your children are suitable. This should be a peaceful, safe, and supportive environment. Your ex may be working hard to show the exact opposite, especially if they are hoping for full custody. While this can easily make someone angry and want to act out, it’s best to remain calm and recruit help from a lawyer to get you prepared.

Demonstrate good character.

When going to trial for custody of your kids, there may be the opportunity to call up witnesses who can attest to your character. Is there anyone in your life that is reliable, and who has seen you engage positively with your children? If so, then ask if they are willing to advocate for your behalf during the court hearing. A written testimony from them may be helpful if they are unable to attend in person. 

For more tips on how to get the best chances of a favorable verdict in your child custody case, contact a Family Lawyer right away, such as a dedicated professional from The Law Group of Iowa.

Family Law Lawyer

When you haven’t seen your child in years and want to renew the parent-child relationship, there are some factors to keep in mind.  Whether or not you can gain visitation rights may depend on the reasons why you’ve been absent from your child’s life for such a long time. 

In general, courts strongly prefer that a child maintain a loving relationship with both parents after a divorce, and will do everything possible to make this happen. They must also, however, always put the child’s best interests above everything else when determining custody and visitation. Consequently, you should hire an experienced local child custody lawyer. Doing so can help you make the best case possible to the judge as to why you should be given visitation privileges, even though you have not exercised them in the past.

Another factor to keep in mind is that while visitation privileges technically aren’t tied to child support payments, you will probably stand a much better chance of a judge granting you visitation if you’re up to date on your child support.

Likely Visitation Considerations

Given the length of time you’ve been absent from your child’s life, the court undoubtedly will want to know the reasons and causes for your absence. Some questions they may ask include:

• Have you been living out of the country?
• Have you been incarcerated?
• Have you been hospitalized or undergoing treatment for a physical or mental condition?
• Have you eliminated any drug or alcohol addictions you may have had in the past?
• Have you upgraded your living conditions so that they’re now suitable for having your child in your home?
• Has your former spouse prevented you from seeing your child in the past?

Supervised Visitation

If the court determines that it’s in the best interests of your child to reestablish visitation, it might require that the visitation be supervised at first. This can especially be the case if you have been incarcerated or under the care of a physician or other health care professional. Supervised visitation means that you’re required to visit your child in the presence of a qualified adult, such as a child psychologist or social worker as well as in a location of his or her choosing. These visits are meant to ensure that you can reestablish your parental relationship with your child without putting him or her in any physical or emotional danger or stress. 

Obtaining Legal Help

As with any issue pertaining to your child, your best strategy when seeking to reestablish a relationship with your child after a long absence is to hire an experienced local child custody lawyer to represent you. He or she can guide you through whatever legal process best suits your particular situation.

When married parents share responsibility for a child, they have equal rights and responsibilities for making decisions for the child. The concept of parental rights and responsibilities changes when parents get divorced, as they will typically no longer live in the same residence. Where the child will live and who will make decisions concerning the child’s care are called into question, and these questions are usually resolved through the legal processes of custody. 

If you are looking to find out how to get custody rights for your children, then hiring a divorce lawyer Modesto, CA like Attorney Bernie is the best way. Divorce is never easy but with the help of an experienced family law attorney, it can be manageable.

Because courts generally agree that a child is best served through an ongoing relationship with both parents, custody is usually shared in some way between two parents after a divorce. There are two types of custody— legal custody and physical custody. Both types of custody can be sole or joint, and parents will need to agree how both arrangements will work after the divorce.

Legal Custody

Legal custody is the right to make decisions about how the child is raised, such as their education, medical care, and religious upbringing. Sole legal custody is rare, and typically is only seen if a court determines that one parent is unfit to be involved due to factors like mental impairment or substance abuse. Joint legal custody means that the parents must share in decision-making. Both parents will have rights to the child’s educational and medical records.

It is important to hire a divorce lawyer in Modesto, CA like Attorney Bernie for custody rights when you are in the middle of divorce proceedings. Divorce can be very complicated and expensive, especially if it involves fighting over which parent will get custody of their children. It’s best to consult with an experienced family law attorney who can help you make sure that your needs are met during this difficult time.

Physical Custody

Physical custody means the right and obligation to care for the child on a daily and ongoing basis, and determines which parent the child will live with. In a divorce, sole physical custody means that the child resides only with one parent. Joint physical custody means that the child lives with both parents according to a schedule that either the parents agree on or that the courts decide.

In many states, courts are moving from awarding sole physical custody to systems where one parent will be the primary physical custodian and the other parent will be the secondary legal custodian. Evenly split 50-50 custody is less common, as courts generally favor the concept that a child should have one place they are able to call home. 

Parenting Time

When one parent is awarded sole physical custody, the other parent is often granted visitation according to a parenting agreement or schedule. It is important to remember that even when one parent is awarded sole physical custody, legal custody is usually shared, and both parents will play a role in making joint decisions in the best interest of the child. 

Legal Considerations

Obviously, the process of determining custody agreements can be very complex, especially when emotions are frayed from a tricky divorce. Parents should consult an experienced divorce lawyer in Modesto, CA like Attorney Bernie to guide them through the legal process, especially if they cannot reach an agreement outside of court.

Divorce is a stressful ordeal, often made complicated by emotions and rising tensions. Even cordial separations can lead to difficult divorce proceedings, which is why it’s important for you to hire a divorce lawyer as soon as possible. As divorce lawyers from a firm like the Law Office of Daniel J. Wright can explain, getting all the information you need right away can mean the difference between a smooth transition and a rough one.

Seeking Out Advice

If you’re even just thinking about dissolving your marriage, consulting a divorce lawyer will be beneficial. Every legal union has a different set of circumstances surrounding it, so what works for one couple may not work for you. 

A divorce lawyer will give you a personalized and preliminary sketch of how you could proceed based on your situation. Your assets, prenuptial agreements, and family organization will all come into play during this conversation. Getting a consultation doesn’t mean you have to officially file for divorce. A lawyer will simply lay out your options for you so that you can make a more informed decision. 

Prepping for the Divorce

If you decide to move forward with your divorce, consulting a lawyer prior to making any informal agreements such as unofficial custody plans or separation of belongings is not only helpful but could protect you from future legal issues. Depending on the nature of your relationship with your spouse, any mistake you make can be costly.

Divorce isn’t as simple as filing for legal separation. The separation of assets and debts and the inevitable custody discussion can be a long process, and during the time it takes for you and your spouse to reach an agreement, mistakes can be made that can hinder the proceedings. Your lawyer will also advise you on what documentation you need to have prepared, including financial statements, prenups, and evidence of ownership of assets or belongings.

Being in Control

Being the first between you and your spouse to land a lawyer gives you the upper hand. Information is power, and you don’t want to be the spouse that is floundering. Having all the information and documentation on hand right as you’re moving forward with the divorce will make the proceedings much easier to deal with. You won’t have to battle the stress of the unknown. You’ll be prepared and know what to expect.

If you’re debating whether or not you should divorce your spouse, don’t hesitate to find the right divorce lawyer. Discuss all your options, and start making a plan for the future.

High Net Worth Divorce Lawyer

Regardless of the circumstances divorce can create a really expensive toll on each parties emotions and their finances, this is especially true when a high networked divorce. When a divorcing couple has a large amount of property, income and assets the stakes are going to be higher. Because high net worth divorces have a higher amount of assets, they are naturally complicated. Dividing a property and a high net worth divorce requires a carefully crafted strategy, and without a plan in place costly mistakes are more likely to occur, and to protect your rights in property in a high net worth divorce you need to keep the following in mind as you work with a high net worth divorce lawyer, such as the ones available at Robinson & Hadeed Family Law.

You should not make emotionally charged decisions. Emotions are running high during a divorce, and it is very common to make rash decisions without considering the long-term implications. In the event of an emotionally driven decision you could end up agreeing to give more property than you deserve to give up, or you might accept a deal that gives you way less then you deserve. While you might think your chores will make your life easier at the moment it might lead to a more time-consuming and emotionally draining fight in the future.

High net worth can quickly become heated, and that is why it is important that you do not attempt to lash out at your ask or punish them for whatever happened to your marriage. Instead you should think about how you would react if this were a professional setting, how do you handle business matters? You handle business matters by being calm, informed and having a plan. Working alongside your high net worth divorce lawyer in Pierce County, WA, your divorce lawyer will be able to help you ensure that your feelings are being put to the side. Your lawyer is going to be able to make strategic and knowledgeable decisions that will protect your best interest.

In any divorce assets must be characterized in the separate or community property, and they must be correctly identified. Only community property may be divided in the divorce, and for high asset couples this process is slightly more complicated.

As a business owner you might have the business prior to the marriage, and therefore your business is separate from your community property. However during the course of that marriage, community property might’ve been used to increase the value of the business. Therefore the business has now been commingled with community property and is likely to be subject to division in the divorce.

Therefore it can be difficult to know if an asset will be considered community or separate property, which makes it very important for you to have an expert on hand such as your high net worth divorce lawyer in Pierce County, WA because they are going to have the expertise that you need.