Minneapolis Parenting Time Attorney

Minneapolis Parenting Time Attorney

If you have a child with someone whom you are no longer with, parenting time, which determines when your children are with you and when they are with their other parent, is a primary concern. Because the outcome of your parenting time case will directly affect your parental rights, working closely with an experienced Minneapolis parenting time attorney is always in your best interest. 

Parenting Time Cases

While parenting time is a common component of divorce cases involving children, parenting time concerns frequently arise in all the following situations:

• When parents who were never married break up and need to address the matter of co-parenting moving forward
• When parents legally separate
• When the matter of parenting time needs to be addressed while a divorce is pending
• When divorced parents encounter significant changes in circumstances that require parenting time modifications

Hammering Out a Parenting Plan between Yourselves

You and your children’s other parent understand your children’s needs better than the court possibly can and share a desire to protect their best interests – although you may not agree on the best way to go about this. If you and your ex are, however, able to negotiate a parenting plan that lays the ground rules for your parenting time orders, you won’t require the court’s direct intervention on the matter. If not, however, you can expect to receive one of the state’s standard schedules. 

The Court’s Motivation

When Minnesota courts are called upon to rule on parenting time cases, they are always motivated by their own interpretation of the involved children’s best interests. The factors that are taken into careful consideration in this process include:

• The children’s physical, emotional, spiritual, and cultural needs, including any special needs, and how the proposed parenting plan addresses these needs
• Each parent’s preference in the matter
• Each child’s preference in the matter – if the child in question is found to be of adequate age, ability, and maturity to weigh in
• Each parent’s level of involvement in providing the children with care to date
• Each parent’s degree of willingness and ability to provide the children with ongoing care that meets their developmental, physical, and emotional needs while consistently upholding the parenting time schedule
• How well each child has adapted to their current situation in terms of home, school, and community
• The degree to which maximizing parenting time with both parents benefits the children and the degree to which limiting it with either parent is detrimental
• Each parent’s willingness and ability to support the children’s healthy, ongoing relationship with the other parent
• Each parent’s willingness and ability to successfully uphold the parenting time orders
• Whether child abuse, negligence, or any form of domestic violence is a concern

An Experienced Minneapolis Parenting Time Attorney Can Help

If the time you are able to spend with your kids is at stake, the focused Minneapolis parenting time attorneys at Atticus Family Law recognize the gravity of the matter and have the compassion and keen legal insight to skillfully advocate for your rights as a parent – in pursuit of a favorable case resolution. Learn more by contacting us today.