Child custody cases can be grueling for all persons involved. You should make your best effort to resolve custody amicably, either directly with your ex or through a legal or mediation process. Be sure to explore all possibilities for joint custody. You should act exclusively in the best interests of your child, and, toward that end, you should minimize the impact of a contested court case. Even if your child will have no direct part in court proceedings, the tension will undoubtedly impact your child at least in an indirect fashion.
If amicable settlement is impossible, then prepare yourself. You must honestly believe that your having sole custody of your child -- at least physical custody, and perhaps legal custody as well -- is firmly in your child's best interest. As a corollary, you should believe that your ex gaining custody will in some way be detrimental to your child's welfare -- and you should prepare hard evidence to back that up. Don't battle for custody out of spite; you must be objective.
You can be sure that your ex will be formulating similar strategies, so take a long, hard look at your own parenting skills, as a third party might view them. How has your ex, or a best friend or relative, criticized your parenting in the past? Be prepared to field questions in court about any behaviors or specific instances in which your parenting skills could be called into question. If you're still engaging in any activity that could be seen in a negative light, then stop. Be ready to call in witnesses who will confirm that you have modified any negative behaviors or activities.
You must be brutally honest about yourself and your own flaws. No parent is perfect, and your ex will expose every last little blemish in your character, exaggerated or not, in an effort to make that point. After taking such a personal inventory, you may find there is still room for compromise; you can always contact your ex before your court date and try to settle beforehand.
Otherwise, you will need to gather concrete evidence: documents, school records, police reports, doctors' reports, phone logs, bank statements, plus testimony from friends, witnesses, experts, home evaluators, and others. You will need evidence both supporting allegations that you will be making against your ex, and defending against any allegations your ex may be making about you. The evidence should be concise; you don't want to burden the court with an excess of paperwork, or annoy the judge with extraneous details.
It is unlikely that you will survive a custody battle without a lawyer. Your lawyer should specialize in family law, with particular experience in contested custody cases. If you're already working with a lawyer whom you like but who does not have this particular kind of experience, then hire a co-counsel who does. Since custody laws vary from state to state or jurisdiction to jurisdiction, be sure that your lawyer has experience in your jurisdiction; hopefully, he or she will be well familiar with the court where your case will be heard, and with the presiding judge. If your lawyer has a history of success arguing cases before your judge, then you stand a good chance of success as well.
It may be worthwhile for you and your ex to together hire an independent evaluator or mediator to assess your case and make objective recommendations to the court. Even if a mediator can't help you and your ex reconcile your positions, he or she will at least give the court a head start.
Finally, stay calm and focused. Blowing up in court will only harm your cause. Even if your ex exaggerates your flaws or introduces questionable evidence, respond calmly, with hard evidence. Take a "time out" if necessary. And stay focused on your child. You must focus on your child's welfare at all times, and let the court know that you only want what is best for your child.
The Judge of the RI Family Court can award either sole legal custody to a parent or may award Joint Legal Custody to both parents. The issue of legal custody is completely independent of the issue of visitation. RI Visitation Rights are beyond the scope of this Rhode Island Law Article. Please Consult with Rhode Island Child Custody Lawyer David Slepkow about the facts of your case.
Sole Legal custody
Sole Legal Custody means that a parent can make all important and major decisions concerning a child's health, welfare and upbringing without consulting with the other parent. These major decisions include religious, educational, medical and general welfare decisions. The parent with sole custody of the child will also have physical placement of the child. The parent with sole legal custody has complete access to medical, educational and other records related to the child.
Joint Legal Custody
Joint Legal Custody means both parents should be involved in major / important decisions concerning a child's upbringing, education, medical and religious welfare. Theoretically, both parents with joint custody have equal rights in making important decisions regarding their child or children. Both parents have full rights to access all medical, educational and other records pertaining to the child. In order for joint Custody to be feasible, the parents must have some level of communication and respect for each other to allow them to co-parent.
Physical Placement - Physical custody
The Court must also award to one parent physical placement of the child or children. Physical placement is where the child will be living on a day to day basis. Physical placement is also commonly known as "physical custody" The parent who does not have physical custody of the child will have reasonable visitation rights. The parent with physical placement of a minor child has the right to receive Rhode Island Child support from the parent who has visitation rights. Child Support is typically determined by the Rhode Island Child Support Guidelines
Shared Physical Placement
Shared Physical placement (Shared Physical custody) is when the child splits time residing with both parents. Shared Physical placement is relatively rare in Rhode Island. In some instances the child may be placed with one parent for half the week and then the other parent the other half of the week. Some parents will alternate weeks or months. This type of arrangement is usually only done by agreement of the parties and is rarely ordered by the Court Absent an agreement.
Split Physical Placement
Split physical Placement is when one child lives with the father and one child lives with the mother. It can also be when the children are split in away so that at least one child lives with a parent and at least one child lives with mother.
If the Parents cannot agree to Legal Custody, Physical Placement or Visitation, then The RI Family court must determine what is in the "best interest of the child" This is very subjective and analytical standard.
It is advisable to contact a Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer or a RI Family Law Attorney to get legal advice concerning the facts and circumstances in your case.
The field of family law governs all types of interactions within the family. One area of family law that may be important to many is child custody. Child custody determines the rights of both parents to not only visit with children, but also make important decisions in the child's life. Many people might not be aware that there are two different and important aspects to child custody: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody refers to the parent's decision-making authority for important decisions in the child's life. Such decisions include education, medical care, and religious upbringing. Physical custody refers to where the child resides.
In many cases, throughout the divorce process, the parents might have come up with their own parental custody agreement. These agreements are typically ratified by the courts, but courts are not bound by these agreements and may reject these agreements. Courts are not bound by parental agreements because the courts have an independent responsibility to determine what arrangement is best for the child's welfare. Allowing courts to have the power to reject parental agreements is important to the court's ability to determine what is in the child's best interest and create custody arrangements that are best for the child.
Parents have two options for sharing care and control of their children. This first option is for one parent to have sole physical and legal custody while the other parent will have visitation, or access, rights. Usually, with sole custody, legal and physical custody will not be split. If one parent has sole custody, he or she will typically have sole legal and physical custody. However, sole custody comes with certain limitations. An example of these limitations is that both parents are prohibited from belittling, or bad-mouthing, the other parent.
The other option is for the parents to share joint legal and/or physical custody. Under joint custody, the time the child spends with each parent is not required to be even. The child may spend more time with one parent and the custody arrangement could still be considered to be a joint arrangement. It is easier for the legal and physical custody to be shared in a joint custody arrangement.
During a child custody battle, parents might not only be fighting amongst themselves, but might also have to defend against third parties who believe that the best interests of the child include that third party having custody. In this situation, biological and adoptive parents have superior rights to all third parties. This includes grandparents or other family members, step-parents, a nanny, or the state. Also, there is a presumption that parents are fit. In order for the state, or a third party, to gain custody of a child, that third party must show that the parents are unfit as parents. When determining custody, the court's main goal is to promote the arrangement that is in the best interest of the child.
Once a custody arrangement is in place, a modification of that arrangement is hard to come by. During a custody modification, courts still seek to promote the best interest of the child. However, the party seeking to modify the custody arrangement must not only show that the modification is in the best interest of the child, but must also show that there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances.
Child custody rights are granted by a family court judge to one or two of the parents, grandparents, step-parents, or legal guardians. In custody cases, the courts usually favor the biological parents.
Custody rights are determined based on the best interests of the children. These rights specify who will have physical and legal custody of the child as well as who will make the payments for child support.
The rights to the custody of a child may be given to only one parent or legal guardian or be shared by both parents. In about 70 percent of cases, primary custody rights are granted to the mother of the child. Fathers are less likely to win custody of their children because of the notion that mothers are better caretakers of children.
About 20 percent of cases award joint custody, in which both parents enjoy an equal amount of custody over their children. In this child custody arrangement, parents are allowed by the courts to divide for themselves the custody rights as long as neglect or abuse is not involved.
Custody rights entail both legal and physical responsibilities of the parents. Legal custody rights allow a parent to make major decisions on things that are involved in his or her children's life such as religion, education, and healthcare. Physical custody rights allow a parent to the child stay with him or her for good.
Barring major disagreements in the wishes of each party, parents can easily determine their rights to custody of their children. However, when both parties cannot reach an agreement, mediation is necessary. Mediation refers to the process that involves intercession of an independent third party to aid parents in making decisions about their custody rights. It can help speed up the process of coming to an agreement of both parties. Once an agreement has been reached and approved by the court, the terms of this agreement can be immediately implemented. If disagreements still ensue, a court hearing will proceed to determine who gets which rights.
During the custody hearings, the judge will consider several factors before making a decision. Usually, courts depend on a psychologist's expert testimony, which evaluates options for custody rights by examining a number of important factors. Some of the factors that a judge looks into include the age of the child, past behavior of the parents at home, preference of the child on who will take care of him or her, stability of the parents' home, the amount of time a parent can devote for taking care of the child, and the parents' ability to finance the child's needs. Children may be invited in the court hearings to testify or to speak privately with the judge.
Child Custody Made Easy helps parents facing a child custody case deal with the painful battle. We are a group of experts and legal professionals and we provide professional and legal information on child custody, child support, visitation rights, parenting agreements, helping children during divorce and more.
The field of family law governs all types of interactions within the family. One area of family law that may be important to many is child custody. Child custody determines the rights of both parents to not only visit with children, but also make important decisions in the child's life. Many people might not be aware that there are two different and important aspects to child custody: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody refers to the parent's decision-making authority for important decisions in the child's life. Such decisions include education, medical care, and religious upbringing. Physical custody refers to where the child resides.
In many cases, throughout the divorce process, the parents might have come up with their own parental custody agreement. These agreements are typically ratified by the courts, but courts are not bound by these agreements and may reject these agreements. Courts are not bound by parental agreements because the courts have an independent responsibility to determine what arrangement is best for the child's welfare. Allowing courts to have the power to reject parental agreements is important to the court's ability to determine what is in the child's best interest and create custody arrangements that are best for the child.
Parents have two options for sharing care and control of their children. This first option is for one parent to have sole physical and legal custody while the other parent will have visitation, or access, rights. Usually, with sole custody, legal and physical custody will not be split. If one parent has sole custody, he or she will typically have sole legal and physical custody. However, sole custody comes with certain limitations. An example of these limitations is that both parents are prohibited from belittling, or bad-mouthing, the other parent.
The other option is for the parents to share joint legal and/or physical custody. Under joint custody, the time the child spends with each parent is not required to be even. The child may spend more time with one parent and the custody arrangement could still be considered to be a joint arrangement. It is easier for the legal and physical custody to be shared in a joint custody arrangement.
During a child custody battle, parents might not only be fighting amongst themselves, but might also have to defend against third parties who believe that the best interests of the child include that third party having custody. In this situation, biological and adoptive parents have superior rights to all third parties. This includes grandparents or other family members, step-parents, a nanny, or the state. Also, there is a presumption that parents are fit. In order for the state, or a third party, to gain custody of a child, that third party must show that the parents are unfit as parents. When determining custody, the court's main goal is to promote the arrangement that is in the best interest of the child.
Once a custody arrangement is in place, a modification of that arrangement is hard to come by. During a custody modification, courts still seek to promote the best interest of the child. However, the party seeking to modify the custody arrangement must not only show that the modification is in the best interest of the child, but must also show that there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances.
If you have legal questions about child custody, you should get legal help.
Courts don't like to make child custody orders. No matter how they rule, one member of the couple is going to be unhappy. To most parents, the thought of not seeing their kids on a daily basis is a cause for grief.
Courts, too are conscious that they could make a terribly wrong decision. A child can be injured or killed if he or she is inadvertently dropped into an abusive environment. There is nothing a judge can do within 1 final hearing to get all of the information he needs to make a perfect custody order.
Besides, a lawyer's training does not include much psychology. Attorneys do attend seminars to find out what the latest thoughts on child custody are. However, much of the child custody issue is based on facts, and facts can be hard to come by when a warring couple are trying to prove that they are Mary Poppins incarnate, and their ex is the spawn of the devil. independent custody evaluators can take the time to gather important information on the child's life.
Others rely on guardians ad litem, custody evaluators or CASA to do objective research about your child's life. Some parents hire private psychologists to do independent evaluations. When they have finished interviewing teachers, baby-sitters, coaches, friends and relatives, and studying school reports and doctor's and dentist's records, the evaluators make a report to the court. The judge usually reads the report, and unless there is something startling and new at the final hearing, makes its findings part of the final decree.
Some judges are willing to personally hear what all of the witnesses have to say. If your judge is not inclined to hire outside help to help her with the child custody issue, she will listen to what all of the witnesses have to say at the final hearing. She will be looking for information about the child, and won't be happy with witnesses who stray into personal opinions.
If you call someone to the stand in a child custody case, it is best if they actually know something objective about the child. It isn't very interesting to the judge that all of your friends and relatives think you're a good parent. The judge assumes your friends and relatives like you, and want you to win. However, specific instances involving the child and the other parent might be useful if they illustrate something about the child or the parent involved to give the judge a clearer picture of the family's dynamics.
If your grandmother gets on the stand to say that your ex isn't worthy to spend time with his own children, she'd better have been there to observe an incident that proves her point. Otherwise, Granny is just voting for you in a popularity contest, and the judge will discount her opinion. He won't think much of you for dragging her there to testify in the first place, either.
Judges are particular about what information they can consider in child custody cases. One of the biggest reasons they appoint evaluators is to cut down on the hours they would need to listen to all the possible testimony about the child's life first hand. Giving the evaluator the wrong impression could cost you time and money you'd rather not spend. Mostly, however, you want to behave in a way that will make the evaluator, and eventually the judge, conclude that you are a mature, responsible adult who can be trusted with the care of your children.
