Child Custody Lawyers in San Diego, California
The child custody lawyers in San Diego, California are here to help you and your former partner make child custody decisions if you are getting divorced or separated. Decisions about child custody are often the most challenging aspect of any divorce or separation. Yet these decisions are crucial aspects of any divorce with minor children. The child custody lawyers in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law are here to help.
If you are getting divorced or separated and have minor children, you and your partner will need to create a parenting plan. The legal requirements for a parenting plan are very simple. Parents must specify which parent will have physical custody and whether one or both parents will retain legal custody of the children. In other words, you and your partner will need to decide where your children will live and will need to specify which parent, or parents, have the right to make legal decisions for the children.
Yet, a strong parenting plan includes other elements. Most parenting plans include a schedule that divides time between both parents and outlines a schedule for visitation. A strong parenting plan can also outline how you and your former partner will manage schedule changes, disagreements, and other issues that might arise.
Your parenting plan will be where you put in writing your major decisions involving your children, including child custody, and visitation orders. Changing a parenting plan once one has been approved by the court can be very difficult. Judges tend to want to keep things consistent for children. The decisions you make in your parenting plan will be decisions you will have to live with likely for the remainder of your children’s childhood. These decisions are incredibly important. The child custody lawyers in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law are here to help you navigate child custody and find a path forward that works for your children and your family.
What Must Be Included in a Parenting Plan in San Diego, California?
Under California law, parents are only required to note which parent will have physical custody and which parent, or parents, will have legal custody. The state of California doesn’t require any other specific details. If you think you and your partner can play visitation or your parenting time schedule “by ear,” or want to be flexible with visitation schedules, you are permitted to do so.
Yet, most child custody lawyers will urge parents to create detailed parenting plans. Why? This can help you and your partner avoid conflict in the future and help create more stability for your children. The child custody lawyers in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law have seen all kinds of family conflicts and can help you anticipate challenges in your parenting plan and address them before they become an issue. Taking a little more time now to go into details can save you and your children grief later.
Understanding Legal and Physical Custody in San Diego, California
When parents get divorced or separated, they need to make decisions about custody, especially if they’ll be living apart after the divorce or separation. There are two types of child custody: legal custody and physical custody. Physical custody refers to where the children will live (their primary residence after your divorce or separation). Even if you and your partner plan to split time with your children 50-50, you’ll still need to decide which parent will have physical custody for tax purposes. In any 50-50 split, usually one parent will have the children for one more day (or days in some cases), and this parent is often considered the custodial parent. Some couples might name one parent as the legal custodian, while choosing to alternate who takes the tax break each year.
Legal custody refers to the right of a parent to make major decisions for their children. Physical custody goes to one parent after a divorce or separation, while many parents choose to share legal custody of their children. Parents who have legal custody have the right to make major medical decisions, schooling decisions, religious decisions, extracurricular decisions, and travel decisions on behalf of their children. While many parents choose to have joint legal custody, parents often have to navigate how they’ll manage disagreements and conflicts. In some divorces, parents might sometimes choose sole legal custody to avoid ongoing conflict or split legal custody for specific decisions. What you choose is ultimately up to you, and what is in the best interests of your children and family. The child custody lawyers in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law are here to help you navigate these crucial decisions.
We can help you understand the benefits and drawbacks of each decision and help you troubleshoot any issues before they become another point of conflict after your parenting plan has been finalized. For example, some parents include guidelines for how major decisions will be made (for example, they might specify the religious traditions that the children will be taught or specify which schools the children will attend so that these decisions don’t become points of conflict). Other parents might include a roadmap for how major conflicts will be navigated (for example, addressing disagreements in family counseling, or scheduling a session with your lawyers when major decisions or disagreements arise). Finally, others choose sole legal custody to avoid these issues altogether. The child custody lawyers in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law can help you address these crucial questions now, so that they don’t become an issue down the line.
What Happens if We Disagree About Child Custody in San Diego?
Child custody can be one of the most difficult decisions to navigate. These decisions involve your children’s future and will impact your life for years to come. It’s understandable that child custody decisions might involve conflict. In most cases, it’s best when parents can reach a child custody agreement by working with their lawyers. When parents take their child custody disputes before a judge, there’s always a risk that the judge might decide in a way that neither parent agrees with. It’s understandable to not want to leave your children’s future in the hands of a stranger. When judges have to make decisions about child custody because the parents cannot agree, they make decisions based on what is in the best interests of the children. A judge will consider several factors including:
- How old your children are
- How emotionally connected the children are to each parent
- The children’s connection to their home, school, friends, and community
- Each parent’s ability to care for the children
- Domestic violence
- Substance abuse
If the children are old enough, the judge might ask the children what they want. Children’s age can also factor into the kind of custody agreement that the judge orders. Breastfeeding infants, for example, might need to spend more time with their mother, while older children might be able to spend more time away from one parent. Custody determinations might consider whether giving one parent custody might take the children away from their school, friends, and community. This could play a role if one parent plans to move far away or to another state. Finally, other factors, like parental fitness might play a role in custody decisions.
It’s important to keep in mind that the courts want to nurture children’s relationships with both their parents. It is very rare for a judge to rule that no visitation is permitted. Usually, the other parent or social workers would need to show that visitation could put the child in emotional or physical danger. So, barring serious abuse, or violence, parents can expect the courts to grant visitation, even if it is supervised. If you anticipate that there might be conflict when determining child custody, either because one parent will be moving away, or because one parent has a history of violence or substance abuse, you might want to speak to the child custody lawyers in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law. Our child custody lawyers are here to help you make a decision that’s right for your family.
What Kind of Details Should Be Included in a Parenting Plan?
Parents are required to detail which parent will have physical custody and which parent or parents will have legal custody. In addition to this, most child custody lawyers recommend that parents include the following details in their parenting plan:
- Visitation Schedule. Parents might want to outline a visitation schedule with the noncustodial parent and specify how holidays will be spent.
- Each family will need to decide how exchanges will take place and when. Parents with higher conflict might choose to exchange children in a neutral location, like during pick-up and drop-off at school. Parents with lower conflict might drive between homes, but it can be helpful to specify who will do the driving and when, and to specify how travel costs will be paid, especially if parents don’t live close by.
- To be effective co-parents, communication is key. High conflict co-parents might choose to keep communication at a minimum and might use tools like applications to communicate. Others might be okay communicating through phone or text message, but parents might want to outline protocols for communication. If one parent will have the children most of the time, the parenting plan may also include times when the children can schedule video calls or phone calls with the other parent.
- Other Issues. The parenting plan might include other details, including outlining major decisions for the children. For example, if you both know where you want to send your children to a specific private school, this decision can be outlined in the plan. If you both know what religious upbringing you want your children to have, this can be outlined in the parenting plan as well. Parents can also outline how major expenses will be handled, like childcare, medical costs, and extracurricular costs.
- Schedules can change. Parents might move. Children’s needs might change. Unforeseen decisions might come up. Your parenting plan can outline how you and your co-parent will address major decisions, changes, or conflicts involving the parenting plan. For example, will you seek counseling? A session with your lawyers? Mediators? Your parenting plan can put a plan in place for how disagreements and changes will be addressed.
Your child custody lawyer in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law can help you navigate the finer details of your parenting plan. The goal is to create a plan that is flexible to grow with your children’s changing needs, but to create a plan that also anticipates potential disagreements and protects both parents from having to fight about parenting after their divorce. It’s a fine balance, which a child custody lawyer in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law can help you to strike.
Making The Child Custody Process Easier
If there are minor children in a family, then custody is often the most important part of a divorce, and it adds another layer of complications and questions. Our team at Smith Family Law, APC, is here to help this part of the process go as smoothly as possible for everyone involved, especially the kids.
Most custody cases are settled out of court, which is often what is best for everyone. This certainly does not mean that we won’t go to court if you feel that is what is in the children’s best interest. Situations that might involve going to court include cases of domestic violence, substance abuse, or situations where there is coercive control. We will work with you to come up with the customized plan that works best for your situation. Contact the child custody lawyers at Smith Family Law in San Diego, California today to learn more about how we can help.
What You Need To Know About Custody Decisions
The good news is that if you and your co-parent can reach a custody decision on your own, you get to set the standards for how custody will be arranged and for how your parenting plan will be written. The future is in your hands. Things can get more complicated when parents cannot agree about custody with the help of their lawyers or mediators. When a case goes before a judge, the judge will decide what is in the best interests of the children.
There are a lot of factors that judges look at to determine custody of minor children, including but not limited to:
- The child’s preference
- The child’s health and safety
- The child’s emotional ties to each parent
- Employment status of each parent
- How much time each spouse spent with the children prior to divorce
There are as many custody scenarios as there are custody cases, and we will work with you on every unique detail in your case to help secure the best outcome possible for your children. Since custody cases are all very nuanced, some very important advice is to be upfront, honest and detailed with your lawyer about what you want for your kids. The more understanding we have of our clients’ goals for their kids, the better we are able to advocate for them.
Let Us Help You With Your Custody Concerns
Concerned about the custody of your own child? Schedule a free consultation today at (619) 431-3131, and we’ll go through your options together. You can also reach us using our online contact form.