Are you going through a divorce and looking to keep custody of your little one? Click here to learn the specific ways that a child custody lawyer can help.
Every year in the United States, more than 700,000 marriages end in divorce. This can be a very difficult time for both of the people involved, however, divorces can affect a lot of people outside the marital relationship. In particular, divorce can have a huge impact on the lives of the children involved and this is why organizing custody early on is vital.
Around 50% of children will see their parents get divorced during their lifetime. If this happens during childhood, one of the biggest decisions that you have to make will be about child custody.
This determines who a child will live with and how much access each of you is allowed to your children. Getting support from a child custody lawyer is essential during this process but what exactly will they do during this process?
Read on to find out exactly how a family law attorney can help you organize child custody during and after your divorce.
What is Child Custody?
Child custody is the legal name given to the living arrangements for children from divorced families. This determines where a child lives and when or how they see their parents.
In a sole custody arrangement, one parent has sole responsibility for decisions regarding their child’s upbringing. The other parent may still be allowed to see their child but they won’t have the power to make major choices about their upbringing.
In a joint custody arrangement, both parents agree on decisions surrounding their child’s upbringing. Generally, a child will live with one parent for the majority of the time to give them stability.
Now that you understand more about what child custody involves, let’s take a look at how a child custody divorce lawyer can help you organize yours.
A Lawyer Can Talk You Through Your Options
As you can imagine, making a decision on child custody can be very difficult, especially if you and your ex don’t agree on the same custody arrangement. When this happens, a court may have to make the final decision on your child custody arrangements.
Your lawyer will be able to talk you through your options for child custody. If you want to fight for sole custody of your children then they’ll find the best way to do this.
A Child Custody Lawyer Will Put Your Case Together
If your child custody case does go to court then it needs to be strong if you are going to win over the judge. A child or spousal support lawyer will be able to review the details of your case in order to put together the strongest arguments possible.
This might involve looking at:
- Your relationship history
- Who has had the most face-to-face time with the kids
- Who organizes the daily running of the family home
- Any family medical history that might be relevant
- Any criminal records within the family
They will use this to support your claim for child custody. They can also use this information to advise you about who the judge is most likely to back. So in some cases, they might advise accepting a more flexible sole custody arrangement, rather than letting the judge have the final say.
They Can Gather Evidence to Support Your Case
One of the biggest advantages of using a family and marital property disputes law firm is the resources that they have. They have a team of experienced lawyers available who know what evidence they need and where to look for it.
This can be very time-consuming and challenging if you don’t have the right know-how. Accessing these resources via your lawyer can make all the difference to winning your case.
Your Lawyer Will Help Organize Alimony
If you do succeed at securing sole custody, then it’s also important to get help from an alimony support attorney. Even in a joint custody situation, supporting your children single-handedly is a nearly impossible task.
Your custody lawyer will include alimony requests and agreements in their discussions. This means that you can use them to negotiate the amount of alimony that you will need.
Getting this down in writing is extremely important. This means that your ex-partner will have a legal responsibility to pay you alimony support. So if they don’t pay up for some reason you can quickly get this sorted.
They’ll Always Represent Your Interests
Your lawyer will advise you on your options and what they think your best course of action would be. However, as the person hiring them, you have the final say on their negotiations.
This means that you can confidently leave meetings in their hand. And you’ll know that your interests are being accurately represented. At a challenging emotional time, having a spokesperson can make a huge difference to your mental well-being.
Having a lawyer to act as a go-between means that child custody discussions will be productive and well-organized. So you don’t have to risk descending into further arguments with your ex.
Get Help From a Child Custody Lawyer Today
As you can see, when it comes to organizing child custody with your ex-spouse, it’s a good idea to have a child custody lawyer on your side. They will help put together a strong case to fight for the custody arrangement that you want. This also means that you can focus on caring for your child and their needs throughout your divorce.
So what are you waiting for? If you are going through a divorce with children, get in touch today to organize an appointment with an experienced child custody lawyer.