White Bear Lake Child Custody Lawyer

White Bear Lake Child Custody Lawyer

An important component of any divorce involving children is child custody. Further, child custody arrangements are one of the most common reasons for obtaining divorce modifications. Your child custody arrangements address your parental rights, which makes them exceptionally important. If you have child custody concerns, seek the professional legal guidance of an experienced White Bear Lake child custody lawyer today. 

The Court’s Position

The most important point to make when it comes to child custody is that the court always bases its decisions on what it considers to be the best interests of the children. Further, the court finds that – barring a compelling reason for ruling otherwise – children’s needs are best served when they continue to spend time with both parents after a divorce. In other words, it is unlikely that a parent will be cut out of visitation (called parenting time in Minnesota) completely. 

The Court’s Intervention

If you are divorcing or need a child custody modification, you and your spouse can attempt to negotiate terms on your own. If you are able to do so, the court will only be required to sign off on them. This should give you plenty of incentive to exhaust every possible negotiation option with your children’s other parent. While the court will base its decisions on your children’s best interests, you obviously know your children – and their needs – far better than the court possibly can, and abdicating your decision-making power in this way can be especially difficult. 

Common Custody Schedules

If you and your soon-to-be-ex are able to reach an agreement regarding your child custody arrangements, it can be as creative as you like and/or need. After all, your family’s needs are unique. The court tends to order standard custody schedules, but there is no reason you have to follow their lead. Some parents split their time with their shared children nearly down the middle. Others, however, make one parent the primary custodial parent with whom the children live the majority of the time – while the other parent has a visitation schedule.

Your Negotiations

The truth is that you and your divorcing spouse may not be in any position to negotiate amicably with one another (which is common during divorce), but there are other viable options. Consider the following:

• You can negotiate between yourselves – with your respective child custody lawyers’ guidance.
• Your respective child custody lawyers can negotiate on behalf of each of your best interests.
• You can explore your options in an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) setting, such as mediation. 

It’s Time to Consult with an Experienced White Bear Lake Child Custody Lawyer

If you’re facing a child custody concern, the trusted White Bear Lake child custody lawyers at Atticus Family Law are committed to skillfully advocating for terms that serve you and your children’s best interests and that protect your parental rights. We’re on your side, so please don’t wait to contact us for more information about how we can help today.