Parenting Time Lawyers Edina

Parenting Time Lawyers Edina

Parenting time concerns relate to how you and your children’s other parent divide your time with them, which makes these concerns especially important. Whether you are facing a divorce, require a parenting time modification, or have a parenting time issue related to a child born outside of marriage, an experienced parenting time lawyer in Edina can help. 

Parenting Time

The State of Minnesota addresses child custody in terms of both physical and legal custody. While legal custody concerns itself with who will be making the primary decisions related to parenting your children, physical custody addresses your parenting time schedule (often referred to as visitation). This schedule determines when your children will be with you and when they will be with their other parent, which makes it of primary concern. Parenting time issues can arise in relation to all the following:

• When married parents are facing either a divorce or legal separation
• When unmarried parents who have both signed a Recognition of Parentage face a custody concern
• When a father, mother, or both parents need to establish a child’s paternity
• In domestic abuse cases in which an Order for Protection is required
• When a third party, such as a grandparent or legal guardian, cares for a child
• In cases related either to juvenile delinquency or to a child in need of protection or services (CHIPS)

Parenting time is an important component of your parental rights. 

The Court’s Role

If you and your children’s other parent cannot resolve the parenting time issue between yourselves (which the court would almost certainly sign off on), you’ll need the court’s intervention. The court believes that – all things being equal – children are better off when they are able to spend a considerable amount of time with both parents and to continue developing deep bonds with both. Because the court bases every decision related to parenting time on the best interests of the children involved, it takes factors like the following into careful consideration:

• Each child’s emotional, physical, spiritual, and cultural needs and how the proposed parenting time arrangement will affect these needs
• Any special mental health, medical, or educational needs any of the children may have and how these affect parenting time
• Each child’s reasonable preference in the matter (if the judge deems the child old enough, mature enough, and capable of weighing in)
• Each parent’s level of involvement with parenting the children to date
• Each parent’s willingness and overall ability to provide the necessary care for each of the children going forward
• The benefits of maximizing both parent’s parenting time and the negatives associated with limiting parenting time for either parent

You Need an Experienced Parenting Time Lawyer in Edina on Your Side

The seasoned Edina parenting time lawyers at Atticus Family Law recognize the gravity of your parenting time concern and dedicate their impressive practice to resolving concerns like yours as effectively and efficiently as possible. We’re on your side and here to help, so please don’t wait to reach out and contact us today.