Hennepin County Parenting Time Attorneys 

Hennepin County Parenting Time Attorneys

If you are facing an issue related to your parenting time, it is obviously a serious concern, and your parental rights can hang in the balance. Parenting time issues are very common to divorce, but they can also arise outside of divorce, such as when there is a need for a post-decree modification and in those instances when the parents were never married. When it comes to your children, working closely with an experienced Hennepin County parenting time attorney is always in your best interest. 

Parenting Time in Minnesota

In Minnesota, child custody is addressed in terms of legal custody – who will be making the primary parenting decisions on behalf of your children – and parenting time, which addresses parenting time. Parenting time can be addressed in each of the following ways:

• Primary Placement – With primary parenting time, the children spend the majority of their time with the primary custodial parent. 

• Shared Placement – With shared parenting time, the children are with each parent at least 25 percent of the time.

• Split Placement – With split parenting time, one parent has primary placement with at least one child while the other parent has primary placement with at least one other child. 

The Children’s Best Interests

Minnesota – like every other state – bases every decision related to parenting time on the best interests of the children involved. This best-interest standard takes factors like the following into careful consideration:

• The wishes of both parents
• Each child’s level of connection with each parent, his or her siblings, and anyone else who plays a primary role in his or her life 
• The role each parent has historically played in each child’s life and any necessary changes each is willing to make to spend more time with each child in the future.
• Each child’s age and current developmental and educational needs
• Whether the physical and/or mental health of either parent – or anyone living in the household – negatively affects the well-being of the child
• The level of cooperation and communication between the parents and the degree each is willing to continue supporting this cooperation and communication.
• Each parent’s willingness to support the other’s ongoing healthy relationship with each child
• Any evidence of physical, emotional, and/or sexual child abuse 
• Any evidence of domestic violence
• Whether either parent has any issues with drugs and/or alcohol
• Whether either parent’s significant other (who will be living in the household) has a criminal record or has a record of either child neglect or abuse
• Any other factors the court deems relevant.

If the child in question is deemed old enough and mature enough to weigh in on the matter, his or her preference may be taken into consideration. 

An Experienced Hennepin County Parenting Time Attorney Can Help

The compassionate and committed Hennepin County parenting time attorneys at Atticus Family Law have reserves of impressive experience helping clients like you resolve their parenting time concerns favorably. We’re here for you, too, so please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information today.