Child Custody and Placement
In various domestic cases such as divorce, paternity and legal separation the issue of child custody and placement of children may arise. Child Custody is usually broken down into two areas,
physical custody and
legal custody.
Physical Custody means primarily where the child/children will reside. Legal Custody generally means that for major decisions such as health, education or religion, the courts will determine whether one party makes those decisions alone or whether the parties will both be involved.
Generally speaking, the courts will award one of the parties primary physical custody. In some occasions the court awards joint physical custody depending on the age of the child, where both parties reside, the school the child attends, and other factors. Regarding Legal Custody, the court's preference is to award joint legal custody so that both parents will be involved in the upbringing of the child/children. In cases where the parties agree on the custody of the children--the court will generally comply with the wishes of the parties involved. In cases where there is a dispute over custody issues, the court requires that the parties meet with a conciliation counselor to resolve the disputed issues. If they cannot resolve the issues, they will appear before the Judge who may require an independent child evaluation.
At Legal Action Workshop, our attorneys can assist clients in filing for custody or filing for visitation rights. The client may choose whether they want to be fully represented or would like to take part in our 'attorney-assisted' method.