No one starts out on a marriage planning to get a divorce. Everyone’s desire is ‘happily ever after’ but sadly not everyone gets to enjoy this. At some point, some people experience what is often referred to as irreconcilable differences and this leads to divorce.
It has been noted that the parties that are most affected by divorce are the children in the union. Several studies highlight these effects and also show how parents and guardians can mitigate these effects. You can check out this article for more information.
Understanding Child Custody
The issue of who would have primary or sole custody of the children after a divorce is one that’s sorely contested. Since this is not a cut and dry issue, the court exercises serious discretion on the issue. We know that each county/region has different legislations about issues such as parenting order.
It is this parenting order that would form the basis for the determination of the parent who is the primary care giver. Some counties refer to it as the parent who is the primary residential one. So following a typical order would mean granting custody to the parent who is the primary caregiver or residential parent.
The other parent on the other hand would be granted time with the kids on weekends and maybe a night or two during the week for a couple of hours. Whenever there is a deviation from this standard, it means it was done in the best interest of kids involved.
In the case of a judgement based on the best interest of the kids it means that the court examined the particular situation on its individual merit. All the extraneous factors are put into consideration for the good of the kids.
There are many factors that affect judgement based in the best interest of the kid involved and they include the following:-
- The present living conditions and circumstances of the parents.
- How the child relates with the parents
- The geographic closeness of the parent to the child.
- The community that the child would live in and the school that they would have access to.
- The safety and health of the child
- The financial capacity of both parents
If the parents indicate that they want to co-parent, the court would look at how willing they are to relate well with each other. They must show a level of respect for each other and not one person trying to turn the child/kids against the other parent.
In a case where the parents seem never to be able to get along and are always fighting, the court most probably would refuse to give them joint custody.
There are a lot more to the issue of child custody; check out this site for more information on the subject: https://family.laws.com/child-custody
How To Get The Best Child Custody Lawyer
Now that you have seen that the issue of child custody is a highly contested one, you can deduce that not every attorney can handle it. There are so many factors to consider before you hire someone to represent you in this regard. Failure to do so may result in you never getting custody of your kids.
So the following are some factors to consider in the process of hiring a child custody lawyer:-
Area of Specialization
Before you entrust your case into the hands of any attorney, ensure that divorce and child custody are their areas of specialization. The broad term for lawyers who handle such cases would be family lawyers. But there are some who are known to always help their clients to get what’s best for them and their kids.
It would do you no good to hire a general solicitor or a real estate lawyer. Ensure that you determine the specialty of the lawyer you are looking to hire.
Hire Locally
Another thing that would not do you any good is to go outside of the region where the case is holding to hire a lawyer. For example, if you are facing a child custody case in Dayton Ohio, it is in your best interest to look around in the locality. You stand a better chance with child custody lawyers in Dayton Ohio because they understand the ins and outs of the family law in that region.
Experience with Similar Cases
Although a lawyer may specialize in child custody, every case stands on its own merit. That is why you have to go a step further to look for a lawyer that has handled similar cases to yours.
If for instance you have a special needs child or the parents live far from each other or worse still the divorce was a bitter one, then the case would be quite complex. For this reason, you need someone who has been in that kind of fight before and came out with positive results.
