Single parent homes have become incredibly common in America. Today over 23 million children reside in a single parent home. Going through a divorce can be tough, and when a child is involved, it can be even more challenging and demanding. If you have a child who is under the age of eighteen, the problem of custody will be a part of your Divorce proceedings. Since child custody issues are complicated, it deserves knowing all the concerns that you can encounter. That’s what we’re going to look at today.

How Do You Reach A Custody Arrangement?

If you’re going through a divorce, there a variety of ways that you can reach a custody agreement. It is essential to ensure that you seek legal advice before you take any advances here. You need to be sure that you are making the ideal choice. As soon as you have done this, you can reach a casual arrangement using an arbitrator or with the choice of a judge.

When an arrangement has been reached informally, this will result in a binding written legal agreement. This can have numerous names consisting of a parenting agreement. The agreement will be revealed to the court where it then becomes a binding contract. At this moment, the parents must consent to the terms.

It is possible to reach these types of arrangements with no assistance from an attorney. However, if you want to ensure that you do get custody of a child, this is not recommended.

If a lawyer is involved, this will typically take the kind of a mediation, which takes place outside the courtroom. These situations are less adversarial with a neutral party dealing with conflicts. Each parent and lawyer will be offered with a possibility to make their case, and hopefully, the agreement will be formed through teamwork. There is an exchange to the proceedings prior to the mediator, or neutral party prepares a plan that will be settled through court.

What If An Agreement Can’t Be Reached Through Mediation?

At this point, custody needs to be handled in court. A family court will figure out the custody strategy in this case, and Michigan courts utilize a ‘best interest of the child’ standard. Eventually, this simply implies that the child’s requirements are put initially, however, the elements that are taken into consideration can vary from court to court.

A few of the elements that can be considered consist of:

Living circumstance of individuals parents

Relationship with children

Determination of parent to support their partner

Abuse or neglect

Some courts will likewise think about the child’s preference. This generally implies that an older child will be allowed to voice their viewpoint on who they want to stay with in court. Other courts will take a look at whether or not the parent can supply a steady way of life for the child in addition to the age of the child in question. Some judges have actually leaned on the idea that younger children need to be with their mother.

What Are The Kinds Of Custody Arrangements?

There are a few kinds of custody plans that you can argue for or that a judge can choose:

Physical custody– This means that a child is enabled to live with you after a divorce. This can be a shared agreement with both parents gaining this right. Usually, this is generally the favored technique by the court. It is essential to be mindful that this does not need to be an equal split and one parent can be approved custody for most of the time. If parents are unable to agree on a schedule, the judge will set one up.

Sole physical custody merely means that a child will live fulltime with one parent. While this does offer stability for the child, it can be incredibly difficult for children to lose the other parent from their life.

Visitation Rights– In a custody agreement, there will be a visitation schedule that both parents are lawfully needed to follow. This implies that parents can not take their child away from their partner without their authorization. In specific cases nevertheless, visitation rights can be limited for one parent. This is typically the case if there is the hazard of harm or a problem with abuse. Visitation rights can be difficult to comprehend, particularly when it concerns the rights of extended relative. If you remain in any doubt about your rights after a custody agreement, make certain you speak to your attorney.

Legal Custody– Do understand that physical custody does not offer legal rights to make decisions about your child’s upbringing. For this, legal custody needs to be supplied to an individual parent otherwise it will be shared. This includes decisions on education, religious guideline, and healthcare. Typically, shared legal custody is the standard outcome. However, there are cases where one parent will be offered full rights here.

Are There Emotional Concerns?

There will constantly be emotional concerns to contend with when a child is part of divorce proceedings. It is important that they do not feel like a tool in a legal fight and that they are not utilized by one parent versus the other. There are a few methods you can make your divorce much easier for your child. Make certain that you are always respectful of one another through the proceeding. Children ought to not see you shout, verbally attack each other or threaten violence.

Children are mentally dependent on the concept of their parent’s relationship, particularly when they are younger. You must guarantee that they understand the separation has not been triggered by them and that you both love them regardless of the divorce. Make certain that they are involved in the divorce proceedings as little as possible. Do not try and motivate them to select a side as this can trigger serious stress and anxiety for the child. It is very important to select the ideal attorney who can direct you through all these problems and make sure that your child is protected from the unfavorable problems of a divorce.

We hope this assists you understand the elements of child custody during a divorce proceeding which it permits you to prevent a few of the common concerns.