No other single issue is more emotionally charged and important in the practice of law than child custody matters. For some time people have leveraged the services of family law attorneys to fight for the custody of their children when a relationship or marriage comes to an end. The help of an expert child custody attorney is necessary to protect your rights as a parent. Congratulations on taking the first step toward fighting for your children. Menard Lawyers, LLC is here to help.

Get Child Custody Results

When you contact our team you can be sure that an expert child custody lawyer will be assigned to your case. We only have attorneys experienced in family law to help you get the results you want. Gone are the days of simply granting mother custody over the kids. Most jurisdictions across the United States now follow best interests of the child standard, whereby the court takes into account dozens of factors to determine how the custody will work. Where the child or children should reside as their primary residence and which parent should make important decisions in the child’s life such as educational, religious, and medical decision are some of the decisions that will be made. An experienced family law lawyer fighting on your behalf will explain the details of your case with the care, confidentiality, and compassion that you and your family deserve. Only an expert can set real expectations of what your chances are for obtaining the custody that you want.

What Factors Will Be Weighed?

Family law judges will weight many different factors to determine what they believe is in the child’s best interest. Remember, this is not necessarily what either parent wants, it is what the judge believes is the best outcome for the child to have the best possible upbringing. Only an experienced child custody attorney can advise you as to what your personal situation means when applying these factors to your case. We will begin to help you work through all of this in your very first consultation with one of our child custody lawyers.

Child Custody Help: What is Joint Custody vs. Sole Custody?

An experienced child custody attorney will explain the details of exactly what the difference is between sole custody and joint custody—but following is a basic breakdown. In most cases, joint custody is based on the court’s belief that encouraging parents to work together for the best interests of the child is of utmost importance in developing a healthy relationship with both parents and the child. Sole custody, which is more uncommon today, is an award of custody to one parent based on a specific finding by the Court that can differ on a case-by-case basis.

Joint Custody

Joint custody means that both parents share in the responsibilities of the children and should work together to approve any major decisions related to the children’s lives. Most courts encourage joint custody for this reason. Having both parents in a child’s life is important for countless reasons to help a child grow up with positive influences from both parents. Judges often look specifically to how the parents interact with each other in making a joint custody decision.

Sole Custody

Sole custody of a child, which is less common, but granted in some situations, is where the primary care giver or custodial parent does not need to work with the other parent to develop plans for how the child should be raised or to make big decisions on medical procedures or little decisions such as after school activities. However, in some sole custody situations many courts are moving towards allowing the non-custodial parent certain rights regarding serious medical procedures. An award of sole custody to the other parent does not mean that a noncustodial parent won’t be included in decisions about their child. Quite to the contrary, both parents are normally still granted equal rights to school functions, medical information, school information, and the ability and right to spend quality parenting time with their child. Sole custody does not mean a parent’s rights have been taken away, it just sometimes is based on a finding that two parents cannot work together to co-parent.

Get Started With An Expert

Hiring an expert child custody attorney that will fight for you on issues of sole custody, joint custody, or on child custody modifications or enforcement is essential to protecting your rights and ensuring that your family is cared for in the way that they deserve. Let us help you get what you desire for your family.