Child Custody Attorneys Monterey

Child Custody Attorneys Monterey

Child custody is a primary term of every divorce involving shared children. Child custody concerns go well beyond just divorce, however. If you share a child with someone to whom you are not married, you can face child custody issues, and post-divorce modifications are also common. Whatever the issue is, however, having an experienced child custody attorney in Monterey is in your best interest. 

Legal Custody

Legal custody tackles the issue of who will be making the important parenting decisions that guide every child’s upbringing. This parental responsibility addresses primary issues such as the following:

• The education and daycare that your children receive 
• The medical care that your children receive
• The extracurricular activities and travel that your children participate in
• The religious education that your children receive

Legal custody can be either sole or joint, which means that it can be assigned in all the following ways:

• You and your ex can make every decision between yourselves.
• You and your ex can make each decision between yourselves, but one of you retains the power to resolve a tie if it becomes necessary to do so.
• You and your ex can divide this decision-making authority between yourselves according to the category of decision that needs to be made. 
• One of you can take on this primary responsibility on your own. 

Those decisions that must be made regularly throughout the day are the responsibility of the parent who has the children at the time that they arise, and decisions that must be made in the face of an emergency are the responsibility of the parent who is most accessible. 

Physical Custody

California addresses physical custody – when the kids are with you and when they are with your ex – in terms of parenting time. Your children may split their time between you right down the middle (or relatively evenly), or they may spend the majority of their time with one of you. Courts always make child custody determinations in accordance with the children’s best interests, and the factors that go into these decisions include:

• Each child’s age and overall physical and mental health
• Any special needs any of the children have
• Each parent’s preference
• Each child’s preference (if mature enough to reasonably offer a preference)
• Each child’s welfare and safety
• The bonds that have been established between each child and each parent
• The degree to which each parent is committed to supporting the relationship between the children and the other parent
• Any mitigating factors, such as substance abuse concerns or a history of domestic abuse or child endangerment

Do Not Put Off Consulting with an Experienced Child Custody Attorney in Monterey

The compassionate family law attorneys at Miranda, Magden & Miranda, LLP, in Monterey, California, recognize the gravity of child custody concerns and dedicate their practice to fearlessly advocating for favorable resolutions for all our clients. We are on your side, so please do not hesitate to contact us for more information today.