Child Custody & Visitation Rights

Dealing with issues involving custody of children and visitation rights could possibly be the toughest situation both parents face from an emotional and legal viewpoint. When divorcing parents can agree on these problems the end result is always better for the children since it is about cooperation when raising children. Parents of children are going to be working together for a very long time as it is very important to be able to get along and agree on decisions for the children. Having said that, it’s not always possible for both parents to come to an arrangement that everyone is completely comfortable with at all times. If one parent is not prepared to be reasonable, at times they’ll need the family courts of California to settle the disputes.

There are two main forms of custody are physical custody and also legal custody. Legal custody is regarded as the ability to make primary life considerations for the child; these decisions would include education, medical care, extracurricular activities along with religious training. Legal custody is almost always joint, which means both parents get the authority to engage in the considerations of the children and both parents will need to talk about and decisions they decide on for the children.

Physical custody is considered the right to have the child live together with you. Each parent or guardian will be eligible for a certain amount of parenting. The prime physical custodian is the parent that receives the most parenting time. Physical custody can be joint, that means equal, if the parents can consent to splitting the parental time evenly but this arrangement is rarely directed by the court without an agreement of the parties involved.

Visitation rights usually include the other custodian parent receiving weekend visitation rights coupled with holiday and summer parental visitation time. The family courts will certainly provide more parental time whenever partners can come to an agreement to give the parent with visitation rights, more access to the children involved in the divorce.

The Factors Involved with Custody and Visitation Deliberations

When both parents can’t come to an agreement on who gets physical custody and how the visitation rights should be worked out, the family law courts will look at factors like the length of time the children spent with each parent prior to the divorce, what roles each parent participates in the lives of the children and also the conduct of each parent. The courts will want there to be as little change in the child’s life as possible hence the legal courts might want the children to settle with the parent or guardian that has normally been the actual caregiver for the longest period of time, however if this is shown to be detrimental to the well being of the children the courts will provide alternative solutions.

The family law courts will always try to find the best solution for the children involved in the case, even if the decision are only favorable to one parent. The courts will not make judgement on whether they favor the mother or father to retain custody, they will treat each case individually.