Helping Parents Pursue Child Custody
One of the most crucial family law issues is making sure parents have the opportunity to see their children and care for them. Whether you are going through a divorce, establishing paternity or seeking modification of an existing parenting plan, the child custody standards and process are similar in many ways.
At Law Office of Melissa D. Cianci, in Roseville, we are intimately familiar with California child custody law. Contact us to schedule a consultation with a knowledgeable family law attorney. We also handle parental relocation (move-away) issues.
Understanding the Legal Standards for Custody
The term child custody refers to both physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody is direct responsibility over the child at any given time. In most cases, physical custody is divided on the basis of a parenting plan, with parenting time shared on an equal or unequal basis. The traditional notion of "visitation" is one approach to physical custody.
Legal custody is control over important decisions about the upbringing of the child, such as education, health care and religion. Where appropriate, the parents are typically granted equal, or joint, legal custody.
The legal standard in child custody cases is the best interests of the child. We will vigorously pursue your goals and articulate why those goals are in the child's interests.
To reduce the impact of the divorce process on your family, we will pursue a temporary parenting plan while the divorce is ongoing (pendente lite) and then attempt to work out a settlement agreement or, when necessary, resolve the dispute through the trial process.
Preparing You for Each Stage of the Process
If you and your spouse cannot agree on a parenting plan, you need to go through several steps to achieve a resolution. First, in Sacramento and Placer County, there will be a mandatory mediation session. A lawyer cannot attend mediation with you, but we will carefully go over your options and prepare you to handle sensitive issues without antagonizing the mediator or the other party.
If you do not achieve an agreement in mediation, typically the mediator will submit a recommended parenting plan to the court. Both parties will then have the opportunity to argue to the court that the recommended parenting plan is or is not in the child's best interests.
We understand how important child custody is to you, and will carefully guide you through each step of the process. Contact us to discuss your child custody goals.
