THE NEAL LAW FIRM Oneonta, AL. 205-625-6900

Child Custody Help and Advice Center

No other single issue is more heated, emotionally charged, and important in the law than child custody matters. For decades, people have fought over their rights to obtain custody over the children when a relationship or marriage goes south. The help of an expert child custody attorney is necessary to protect your rights as a parent—congratulations on taking the first step toward fighting for your children!

Child Custody Results

A professional child custody lawyer, as you will find here, will explain to you that gone are the days of simply granting mother custody over the kids–now, most jurisdictions across the United States follow the “best interests of the child” standard, whereby the court takes into account literally dozens of factors to determine where the child or children should reside as their primary residence. An experienced lawyer fighting on your behalf will explain the details of your case with the care, confidentiality, and compassion that you and your family deserve, and only an expert can tell you what your chances of winning are.

Most courts take into account dozens of factors in determining custody, including:

• The preferences of the child (if over age 13)

• The wishes of the parents

• The mental and physical health of all parties involved

• How the child adjusts to his/her environment in school, home or the community

• History of violence by either of the parents

By no means is this a complete list or necessarily the order of most importance, but this is a list of special considerations that should be taken into account.

Child Custody Help: What is Joint Custody vs. Sole Custody?

An experienced child custody attorney will explain the details of exactly what the difference is between joint custody and sole custody—but here is a basic primer. In most cases, joint custody is based on the courts belief that encouraging parents to work together for the best interests of the child is of utmost importance in developing a healthy relationship with both parents and the child.

Joint Custody

Joint custody means that both parents share the responsibilities of the children and should work together to approve any major decisions related to the children’s lives. For this reason, most courts encourage joint custody, whereby one parent is still the custodial parent (where the child lives most of the time) and the other parent is the noncustodial parent (where the child has visitation with the other parent). The reason is straightforward and simple—having both parents in a child’s life is important for literally dozens of reasons to help a child grow up with positive influences from both parents.

Sole Custody

Sole custody of a child, which is granted in some situations, is where the primary care giver (custodial parent) does not need to work with the other parent to develop plans of how the child should be raised or to make big decisions on medical procedures or little decisions such as after school activities. However, many courts are now moving towards allowing the non-custodial parent certain rights regarding serious medical procedures and extreme sports. Because of the changing laws, it is advisable to speak with an attorney who specializes in child custody matters.

Hiring an expert child custody attorney that will fight for you on issues of sole custody or joint custody is essential to protecting your rights an ensuring that your family is cared for in the way that they deserve. What are you waiting for—the most important thing your life—your children—are depending on you to fight for them! Get the child custody help you deserve!

How To Keep What Is In The Best Interest Of The Child In A Custody Case

When making a decision in regards to a child’s welfare, including child custody, the court’s primary focus is on what is in the best interests of the child. Every child custody plan must show how and why this is the best option for child, otherwise it will not be considered. Child custody and child access, like child support, are the right of the child, not the parent. Therefore separate family law issues such as a father’s or mother’s rights, are not the primary focus when dealing with how to help with child custody matters. The child has the right to have as much contact with each parent as is consistent with the best interests of that child. The best interests of the child are determined by a number of factors, including:

• the love, affection & ties between the child and each person seeking child custody or access

• the ability and willingness of each person to encourage a relationship with the other person

• the permanence of the family unit that the child would live in

What is determined to be in the best interests of the child is not based on any generalizations about child custody and access. Each child custody case must be decided based on the individual details of each custody case, and the evidence that has been presented. Having your particular child custody case or questions evaluated through us online simply by filling out the contact form on the right of this page so we can assist you with your unique situation, will help ensure that you will be on the right track in what to do for your child custody situation – that will be truly be in the best interest for your particular child and how to handle the custody case.