Family law and legal rules can often be confusing. When divorce and children are included in the picture, it often quite becomes such a mess. There is so much to learn when you are going through a complicated situation like this one, which could become very upsetting for both parties involved, their families, and their friends, if not handled properly. Still, there are many different ways to handle this situation, so this article is here to help you get an overview of family law matters.
Rights and Responsibilities
In law, children are the ones who have rights while parents get responsibilities. What this ultimately entails is that no single parent gets “equal time” to their children, even if they’re paying child support. Parents can amicably agree to spend equal amounts of time with their child, or what their lawyer and the court settled or have decided is in the greater interest of the child. It’s best to always think of what’s best for the child and then select from there. Formalize any agreements and arrangements for parenting so both parents are on the same boat when it comes to child care.
Regarding Custody
There are two types of parental custody arrangements: sole legal custodial (or primary) residence and joint legal custody arrangement —which occurs when both parents have an equal say in the decision-making process regarding their child(ren). For a parent to seek shared parenting, they must first attempt a sole legal custodial (or primary) residence arrangement with the other parent before going to court for joint legal custody because it is often easier to get sole legal custody than joint legal custody.
Most states allow for joint custody, which gives both parents equal time with the child in various ways such as overnight visitation, parenting time, shared decision-making, etc. Many states also allow for primary physical care (PPC) for one or both parents, which generally requires that the non-custodial parent have “visitation rights” meaning they can visit the child on a regular basis. If there is any change in their employment status, school situation, or any other significant life event, the custodial parent needs to notify them about those changes.
On Divorce
If you are thinking about getting divorced, you need to talk to an experienced divorce attorney for men and women before doing so, as this will protect your parental rights and ensure you get what you deserve under the law and not just by one person giving up something for another. Divorce can be a long and expensive process, sometimes involving many people, including children and pets. So if you want to make sure that you get everything you’re entitled to, you need to be prepared before you go down the road of divorce and court proceedings. Work with an experienced, knowledgeable divorce lawyer who can help you with this complicated task and will fight for your rights.
Property Split and Agreements
In many cases, a simple approach of keeping what was in one person’s name only is not advisable because it can lead to a dispute over ownership of items, as well as other issues relating to finances and trust accounts held by third parties such as banks, financial institutions and lawyers’ trust accounts (that belong to one party, but are held by another). The current Family Law Act also provides for certain joint assets to be allocated to one spouse or partner. The act provides principles for when two people need to make decisions about things that were once jointly owned but now exist in different places or with different owners.
Separating couples will be better served by talking to a family lawyer about what sort of assets they have or can claim to own jointly and how these should be divided at separation and post-separation when children are involved. This applies in all other circumstances, where there is no agreement between spouses regarding how things are to be divided up and managed after separation, including during divorce proceedings where one spouse seeks an order for spousal maintenance from the other (which essentially means the non-custodial parent who pays maintenance has to pay half of the costs of raising the child). One obvious reason it’s important for separating couples to consider the issues of asset distribution is that most tax benefits are lost when someone starts earning a salary unless their earned income exceeds the couple’s combined adjusted taxable income.
Always make sure to work with licensed legal professionals. That’s the best way to settle things and come out with the least amount of damage and hassle.
