Children Focused Issues

Separation and divorce can be difficult for children. Going through such times can be incredibly sad, confusing, and stressful for the children. There are several issues surrounding them such as matters of child custody/visitation, parentage, relocations, support, and several other issues. Parents always want their children to have the best life.

However, in tough situations like this, it is important to contact our California based competent family law attorney.

Child Custody/Visitation

Child custody and child visitation are sensitive matters when it comes to separation and divorce cases and they must be dealt with seriously since the mental health of both the spouses and their children is involved.

Child custody and child visitation go hand in hand.

Judges usually prefer that both the spouses decide the visitation schedule together, however, if they are not unable to do so, only then the court will interfere. Oftentimes mediation is a way to resolve such issues.

The results of mediation then become a binding agreement and the parties must follow it. Judges usually prefer that the spouses come to the decisions on their own because then there is less likelihood of the need for a modification.

According to the public policy in California, it is confirmed that the children must be allowed to have frequent contact with both the parent after their separation or dissolution of parents.

If the parents are unable to agree on a parenting plan for the children, the court will decide. The legal standard is always the child’s “best interest.”

There are some factors to consider when determining child custody in California. They are:

Whether the parent will allow the other parent to frequently visit the children.
The child’s wishes will be considered when the child is of a certain age.
Domestic violence history
Drug use history

It must be kept in mind that both the parents must be given time with their children, provided that the parents are keeping the children safe.

Parentage (Paternity)

Parentage or paternity can be defined as the way of determining the biological father of a minor when the child was born at the time when the parties were not married. Parentage must be established before the orders for child support and child custody have been given. This helps in determining whether the father is the legal parent of the child. The following are some of the ways in which parentage can be established:

Giving birth to the said child.
Adoption
Use of reproductive techniques

It must be noted that establishing parentage is incredibly crucial for obtaining child support and child visitation rights. If you are unable to establish parentage, then you will have no legal ties with the child. If you are a man seeking visitation or custody rights to your child, or if you are a woman trying to secure child support payments, it may be essential to work with an experienced attorney on determining the paternity.

Parental Relocation

It is common for parties to relocate after a divorce has taken place. This raises a lot of issues and one of those is that is the parent allowed to move away and how will the custody arrangement be modified. This is a sensitive issue without any doubt. It must be noted that one parent cannot move away with the child without the permission of the other parent because it will hinder the other parent’s right to child visitation. According to California law, the custodial parent has the power to change the residence of the child. However, there must be a valid reason behind the move and such a decision must only be made in the best interests of the child. The burden is on the non-custodial parent to prove otherwise in the court. However, regardless of this authority, the custodial parent must inform the other parent about the move and also take the consent through a petition. The court will consider different factors when awarding custody of the child and one of those is the geographical distance.

Child Support

Child support can be defined as the sum of money that a court orders one of the parents or both of them to pay every month that will be used only for the child’s expenses. In California, there are various factors that the court considers in order to determine child support. One of those factors is how much the parent earns, how much time the parent spends with the child and tax deductions. These things will help in determining child support value. The custodial parent will be automatically spending more time with the child so the child support payments will be made to the custodial parent. According to the current California law, it has been noted that custodial parents tend to spend money directly on the children. Is it possible to modify child support? It must be noted that once a child support order has been given it can still be amended. The child support order is not rigid as a stone and can be modified with time depending on the situation. In order to modify a child support order, the parent must file a petition for it.

Rights of Grandparents

It is crucial to note that in cases that involve legal issues such as legal separation, divorce, paternity, and other family law problems, they are not limited to parents and children only, instead the rights of grandparents are also involved. For example, in divorce cases, grandparents feel excluded from their grandchildren’s lives. This is incredibly unfair to them and damages the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. In California, grandparents have certain legal rights and they cannot be denied. Thus, if you are a grandparent and feel that your legal rights are being denied, then get in contact with us.

Hire our attorney to protect the interests of your children

So, what are you waiting for? Get in contact with our highly skilled and experienced attorneys who have dealt with several cases of this nature. Discuss your case with our attorney today in order to reach a favorable decision in the case.