Divorce is a difficult and stressful process, to begin with. When there are children involved, it becomes even harder. When a couple of divorces need to agree upon several factors regarding their children, who the primary caregiver will be, how custody will be shared, visitation schedules, and more are all things that need to be settled when a divorce with children is involved. In these cases, a long island family lawyer is best suited to help you receive the custody you deserve.
Types of Custody Agreements
There are different types of custody agreements surrounding divorce with children. For one, legal custody is the ability of the parent to make decisions about the children’s lives, including schooling, medical, and general upbringing. This type of custody does not necessarily mean the parent has physical custody of the child and/or most of the parenting time.
Sole physical or full custody is where one parent is the primary caregiver. That parent has the children the majority, if not all, of the time. Joint physical custody is where both parents share the caregiving responsibilities and custody of the children. Time with the children is generally split in half between the parents.
A long island family lawyer can help you, and your ex reaches a custody agreement that works best for your family and the child involved. The help of a trusted attorney can be essential in coming up with an agreement that works for the entire family.
Visitation Agreements
In some divorce cases, the judge will outline the agreement, which allows the parents to work together or make their visitation schedule. Although, sometimes, the parents are still unable to agree on when they should receive time with the children. A long island family attorney should be utilized to make your case as strong as possible for the best custody agreement. In this case, the court will pass a judgment for a fixed visitation plan, meaning that parents must follow a specific schedule of what parent has the children without flexibility unless they agree to some change. That change is usually temporarily put into writing and approved by both parents.
Supervised visitation occurs with the most severe custody cases. If one parent may be considered incompetent to care for the child or considered a threat or danger to the child’s welfare, visits will have to be supervised by a third party. This often happens when a parent has been absent for a long time and wants to re-establish the relationship with the child.
In some rare cases, there is no visitation order. Parents are often granted minimal supervised visitation, virtual visitation, or some type of child visitation. However, if a parent is deemed dangerous or harmful to the child, there may be an order for no visitation.
Long Island Family Lawyer
If you are going through a divorce involving children, having a trusted long island family divorce lawyer in your corner is important. Child custody and visitation are heavy topics that take serious care and understanding. Contact Simonetti & Associates today for your free consultation.