The process of child custody can be a difficult and emotional one for both children and parents. Most people don’t have the legal knowledge to handle these issues themselves, so finding experienced representation is essential. If you have any questions or need help with a child custody matter, contact Stewart Law Group to schedule a consultation with a family law attorney in Chandler.
Why Hire Stewart Law Group For Your Child Custody Case?
As an Arizona family law firm, Stewart Law Group understands how critical the outcome of a child custody case is to our clients. Here’s why you should work with us:
- Our clients can expect the courtroom advantage, thanks to our legal team’s collective professional experience of more than 100 years.
- At Stewart Law Group, we prioritize our clients and provide customized representation that precisely meets your specific requirements and circumstances. We don’t believe in using boilerplate solutions because we understand the importance of tailoring our approach to your unique needs.
- Our clients come first, which is why we keep our caseloads low. This way, we can focus on each case and give our clients the attention they deserve.
How an Attorney Can Help You With Child Custody
When parents are having difficulty navigating the child custody process, they can rely on their lawyer to help them. Here are some specific steps a divorce lawyer in Chandler can take to help clients with child custody issues:
- Provide Legal Advice: A lawyer’s primary job is to provide effective legal advice based on the situation at hand. This includes providing an overview of how courts make decisions in regard to child custody and explaining the process and possible timeline
- Negotiate With the Other Party: Your lawyer can help you negotiate with the other party to try to avoid fighting it out in court. If an agreement can be reached, the lawyers will draft documents containing the conditions which eventually become enforceable by law.
- Represent Clients at Hearings/Trials – A lawyer will defend their client’s rights during all court hearings and at trial if necessary.
Understanding Custody in Chandler, Arizona
In Arizona, child custody is broken down into two primary categories – legal decision-making and parenting time.
Legal decision-making entails the legal right and responsibility to make all non-emergency legal decisions for a child on matters including education, health care, religious training, and personal care decisions.
Parenting time refers to the schedule of when each parent has access to the child. The objective of establishing parenting time is to ensure that the child maintains a close and meaningful relationship with both parents. During their scheduled parenting time, each parent is responsible for providing the child with food, clothing, and shelter, and can make routine decisions about the child’s care.
Parenting time schedules can range from equal shares of time for both parents in cases of joint custody to more limited visitation rights for a non-custodial parent. The court’s primary focus when determining parenting time is to consider the best interests of the child.
What are the Best Interests of the Child Standard?
The best interests of the child standard is a legal principle employed by courts in Arizona (and across the United States) to determine child custody arrangements. It is a holistic view of what would be the most beneficial environment and parenting set up for the child, based on their unique circumstances and needs.
Key Points of Best Interests of the Child Standard
Some of the crucial considerations taken into account while determining the best interests of the child include:
- The past, present, and potential future relationship between the parent and the child.
- The interaction and interrelationship of the child with the child’s parent or parents, the child’s siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child’s best interest.
- The child’s adjustment to home, school, and community.
- If the child is of suitable age and maturity, the wishes of the child as to legal decision-making and parenting time.
- The mental and physical health of all individuals involved.
- Which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent, meaningful, and continuing contact with the other parent. This paragraph does not apply if the court determines that a parent is acting in good faith to protect the child from witnessing an act of domestic violence or being a victim of domestic violence or child abuse.
- Whether one parent intentionally misled the court to cause an unnecessary delay, to increase the cost of litigation, or to persuade the court to give a legal decision-making or a parenting time preference to that parent.
- Whether there has been domestic violence or child abuse pursuant to section 25-403.03.
- The nature and extent of coercion or duress used by a parent in obtaining an agreement regarding legal decision-making or parenting time.
- Whether a parent has complied with chapter 3, article 5 of this title.
- Whether either parent was convicted of an act of false reporting of child abuse or neglect under section 13-2907.02.
- In a contested legal decision-making or parenting time case, the court shall make specific findings on the record about all relevant factors and the reasons for which the decision is in the best interests of the child.”
Contact Stewart Law Group To Schedule a Consultation
It is critical for all parties to avoid making decisions based on emotion alone and focus on appraising each issue logically and factually. If you need help, contact Stewart Law Group to schedule a consultation.