In California, custody is determined in regards to legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody gives a parent the right to make important decisions regarding the child’s welfare, including such subjects as education, religion and medical care. It also allows the parent to obtain information about the child from schools, doctors, governments, and other such institutions. Courts almost always award joint legal custody to the parents, unless there is specific cause to believe this would not be in the best interests of the child. This requires that parents confer regarding these decisions.
UNDERSTANDING CUSTODY LAW
Physical custody determines who the children will live with the majority of the time. Joint physical custody means the time with each parent is split relatively evenly. The basic schedule will be officially agreed upon as part of divorce proceedings but does not have to follow one set structure. Courts will award joint custody where possible, if both parents desire it. In certain circumstances, however, sole custody will be granted. In this case, the non-custodial parent will be granted certain visitation rights in almost all cases. All matters of custody are determined in alignment with the best interests of the children. Click on a link below to learn more about the different aspects of a child custody case in Los Angeles:
Child Custody Modification
Modifying child custody orders is often one of the most difficult post-divorce legal situations that people have to deal with. If you would like to modify your existing child custody agreement, do not hesitate to speak with a divorce attorney at Mansouri Law Offices.
Fathers’ Rights
Are you a father going through a difficult child custody battle with your soon-to-be ex-spouse? Let our law firm help protect your rights to obtain custody of your children and the child support that you deserve. We handle all types of child custody cases, including high conflict child custody.
Grandparents’ Rights
Your rights as a grandparent are very important, especially when it comes to child custody or visitation matters. If your child’s ex-spouse is not allowing you to have visitation time with your own grandchildren, you should take legal action immediately.
Parent Relocation
If you are dealing with a move away case, you should involve an attorney right away. When the custodial parent wishes to move their children out of the city, state, or country, the visitation schedule will be violated and legal issues will arise. Do not let your ex-spouse simply take your children away – fight back with an attorney’s help.
Parental Alienation
Parental alienation is a serious issue in child custody cases in which the relationship between the parents is usually hostile. When a parent withholds another parent’s rights to visit his or her children, they are committing parental alienation.
Visitation
If you were not granted custody of your children, you still have rights to visit them so long as it is in the best interests of the children. Talk to your Los Angeles divorce lawyer as soon as possible to understand more about visitation rights and seeing your children! Visitation is a right you have after divorce, and only an attorney will be able to help you fully exercise this right.
When you are seeking custody of your children, an experienced attorney can build a strong case supporting your bid for custody and present this convincingly to the court or negotiate creatively with the other party. Mansouri Law Offices has been helping parents fight for their rights for ten years. We view each case as its own unique and personal situation and pride ourselves on providing caring, attentive service to our clients.
