If you are filing for divorce, one of the most important aspects is likely going to be your child custody and co-parenting agreement. Along with dividing your community property, this facet of a divorce is usually the most stressful for the spouses.
We can help you determine your goals for custody and co-parenting. Will the kids be splitting their time evenly with both parents? Or do work schedules or other considerations require a different custody structure? It’s important to try to reach accord on these matters on your own. Otherwise, the fate of your children’s living arrangements for the foreseeable future will instead be in the hands of the California family law court judge overseeing your divorce.
Most parents want to be in control of the custody arrangements for their kids. This gives them a lot of motivation to continue working with their child’s other parent to hammer out a workable arrangement that best accommodates their children’s needs and their family’s unique circumstances.
One thing that we stress to our clients is not to agree to any custody arrangements until they have the terms reviewed by an attorney. You might wind up agreeing to less time with your children than what you are actually able to have under the custody laws of the state of California.
Also, the custody arrangements that you seek should reflect the present needs of your children and family. Don’t worry about what will take place down the road some years from now. The reason for that is that it is fairly simple to return to court for a modification of your existing custody orders once your family’s or children’s needs have significantly changed.