If you are facing a child custody issue, it’s an important matter that deserves the careful legal attention of an experienced Chanhassen child custody attorney. Instead of waiting for the matter to take care of itself (it won’t), reach out to a dedicated child custody attorney with the legal insight and skill to help you obtain a resolution that upholds your parental rights.
Child custody refers to both legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody has to do with making important life decisions on behalf of your minor children, and it can be either sole or joint. Physical custody can also be either sole or joint, and it relates to how you and your ex will divide your time between your shared children. Let’s take a closer look at each.
The questions that legal custody concerns itself with are those big-picture questions that affect your children, such as:
Those everyday questions that relate to your children’s daily activities, such as what to eat for lunch or extending your children’s bedtime an extra hour, remain the purview of the parent at hand.
Physical custody addresses the scheduling of when your kids will be with you and when they will be with their other parent. You can divide your time equally according to whatever schedule you choose (if you and your ex can find middle ground on the matter), and the court is very likely to sign off on your arrangements.
Further, one of you may become the primary custodial parent with whom your children spend the majority of their nights – while the other has a visitation schedule. If you and your children’s other parent are not able to see eye-to-eye, however, the court will provide you with terms regarding your parenting time schedule. The court’s decisions regarding every child custody concern are based on the best interests of the children involved.
With child custody comes child support. Child support is intended to ensure that both parents fulfill their responsibilities to support their children financially and to help balance this support across both parents. Child support payments are calculated in accordance with state guidelines that take both parents’ incomes and the number of overnights each parent has with the children into consideration.
If you and your ex share your time nearly equally with your children, the higher earner will still likely be obliged to pay child support, but the additional overnights (that go beyond a more traditional parenting time schedule) will typically serve to adjust the amount owed.
The practiced Chanhassen child custody attorneys at Atticus Family Law understand how important your child custody concerns are and are committed to helping you find a beneficial resolution. For more information, please don’t wait to contact us today.
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