Child Custody Lawyer in Angola

If you are facing a divorce or a separation involving children – or otherwise facing a child custody concern – it is a serious matter that is important to address from the outset. Your child custody arrangements will set the framework for your parental rights moving forward, which makes working closely with an experienced child custody lawyer in Angola an excellent place to start. 

Negotiating Child Custody Terms that Work for You

You and your children’s other parent will need to negotiate child custody arrangements that you both agree to, and if you are unable to find common ground, you’ll need the court to intervene on your behalf. Toward this end, you can turn to your respective child custody lawyers’ professional negotiating skills, including the option of alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation. While the court always bases its child custody decisions on the best interests of the children, most parents find it preferable to retain this important decision-making power whenever possible. 

Legal Custody

Child custody can be divided into both legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody focuses on who will be making those decisions that are foundational to your children’s lives, including:

• Where your children will attend school
• Which extracurricular activities your children will participate in
• The direction your children’s religious upbringing will take (if any)
• The medical care and attention your children will receive

Legal custody can be sole, which means that one of you will make these decisions on your own, or joint, which means that you will share this responsibility. 

Physical Custody

Physical custody determines the schedule by which your children split their time between you and their other parent. Physical custody grants day-to-day decision-making power to the parent who has the children at the time the decision pops up. Because courts are motivated by the children’s best interests, they rarely deny a parent all visitation (unless there is a very good reason for doing so). 

The Court’s Decision-Making Process

If the judge in your case is required to rule on your child custody terms, it will take all of the following factors into careful consideration:

• Your children’s ages and the sex of each
• You and your soon-to-be ex’s preferences on the matter
• Your children’s reasonable preferences (if they are old enough and mature enough to voice these preferences)
• Each child’s level of interaction and quality of relationship with each of you and with each of his or her siblings
• Each child’s level of adjustment to his or her home, school, and community
• You and your soon-to-be ex’s health and mental health (in relation to how these factors affect your shared children)
• Each child’s unique healthcare needs (including mental healthcare needs)
• Any evidence of domestic abuse on the part of either of you

Don’t Wait to Consult with a Child Custody Lawyer in Angola

Robert Bellinger at The Bellinger Law Office is a dedicated child custody lawyer in Angola who has the experience, commitment, and skill to help. Your case is important, so please don’t wait to contact us for more information today.