Child Custody Lawyers

Child Custody Rules to Master

Child custody issues can be very stressful and dramatic. A lot of times parents or couples fail to agree on who will be the child's custodian especially in divorce cases. In every state there are laws that govern the issues of child custody. They may differ from state to state but there are the basic rules that apply to almost everywhere. These laws always aim at arriving at decisions that safeguard the best interest of the child or children in question. It is known as the 'best child interest of the child' standard and it's the guideline at making child custody decisions throughout all states. Other rules one needs to know and master when faced with child custody issues are;

Joint custody

When spouses have children together while married, both of them are entitled to a joint guardianship over the child and both their parental rights are equal. When they separate they both hold joint custody over the child or children. Added information about this are available in the site at http://ww.losangeles-orangecountylawyer.com. When deciding on the home to place the child the courts looks at wishes of the parents, those of the child and the relation the child has with the parents, other siblings or with anyone who may impact the best interests of the child.

Temporary and Exclusive custody

During divorce and separation proceedings the court may decide to give custody to one parent. This is what is referred to as temporary custody and applies only during that time until the proceedings are concluded. On the other hand Exclusive custody means one parent is given all the custody rights to the exclusion of the other parent.

Rights to visitations

This means the rights or one parent being able to visit the child whether or not he or she has been granted custody. In the case whereby one parent is granted Exclusive custody the noncustodial parent can still maintains the rights to see the child unless otherwise stated by the court. When the court fails to mention on visitation issues it is usually automatic that the non-custodial parent has rights to visitation.

The court may decide to deny the visitation rights if one parent convinces the court that these visitations could be injurious to the child. Remember the best child interest standard? This could be achieved by one parent proving that the other parent usually the non- custodial had physically and emotionally abused the child in the past.

The court can order the non-custodial parent in indirect contempt of court if he or she fails to honor the court's decision pertaining to the child support, custody and visitation.