Chino Hills Child Custody Lawyer

Chino Hills Child Custody Attorney

For every parent, there’s nothing more important than their children. They would do anything for them. That’s what makes child custody situations some of the most difficult in family law. The situations present a difficult dichotomy because the intensity of concern and frustration is rooted in love for the children. It’s the inherent emotional tension in these cases that makes it critical that you work with an experienced Chino Hills child custody lawyer.

The right lawyer can help you work through the child custody process. The emotions are always easier to process if you feel some level of comfort with the situation. Navigating a custody case alone would be much too difficult for a layperson in any circumstance, let alone one this emotionally stressful. Your lawyer can help you develop that sense of comfort by helping you understand your reasonable expectations for a final custody decision.

To help you have a grasp on what’s going on, we can make sure you have a solid understanding of the steps in the process, where we are at a given point, and what comes next. At Steven J. Brown, Attorney At Law, we want our clients to feel confident that we will do everything we can to get them a fair custody ruling that is right for their children.

What Are the Different Forms of Child Custody?

Child custody involves decisions about the important aspects of a child’s life when their parents are not together. In some cases, this is because of a divorce, and in other cases, the parents may never have been married or even together. Whatever the case, there are a few different terms that are used to describe the custody dynamic that is decided in a final agreement or ruling. They are:

• Sole Custody – This is when one of the parents or a guardian is given full custody over the child.
• Joint Custody – Under joint custody, both parents split the custody evenly or as close to evenly as possible, given the constraints of work or other factors.
• Physical Custody – This is the custody that pertains to where the child will live and spend their time.
• Decision-Making or Legal Custody – This custody regards who will make important decisions for the child regarding things like education, religion, medical choices, and other important factors.

Generally, sole or joint custody will be used to describe the dynamic of the physical or decision-making custody. It’s worth noting that physical and decision-making do not have to follow the same prescription.

Given that the court’s default assumption is that an even split between parents is right for the child unless other factors change that dynamic, there are often situations where the physical custody may be sole custody because of things like work requirements, but decision-making custody will still be jointly decided.

It’s also important to note that just because a parent is given sole physical custody does not mean that the other parent will never see the child. There are often visitation rights that are included in the custody ruling. The exact nature of these visitation rights will depend on the situation, and they could be unsupervised or supervised. If a parent is deemed unsafe for their child to be around, they could be granted supervised visitation or none at all, depending on the severity of the situation.

How Is Child Custody Decided in Chino Hills, CA?

How child custody is decided in Chino Hills, CA, can be a complex aspect of family law. There are a number of different factors that are involved in deciding how custody will be divided. However, the guiding principle by which the court will evaluate everything is what is determined to be in the interests of the child. That is the primary measure by which the court is required to make all decisions.

Generally, the court will begin from the standpoint that something as close to an even custody split between parents as possible is the ideal place to start from. This may not mean exactly 50-50 in all circumstances, as things like a parent’s work requirements and expectations could cause them to not be available enough for an even split.

This also means that there is no favoritism toward a child’s mother. The court is prohibited from making a decision based on the sex or gender of the parent. The arrangement will move away from an even custody split based on the particulars of the situation.

Court vs. Mediation

The process of deciding child custody can happen in a few different ways. For many couples, there is a desire to try to come to an agreement on their own and hopefully avoid any particularly contentious custody battles.

It’s worth recognizing, though, that even in these cases, the court will be required to sign off on anything that is agreed to, as they will have to verify that it is in the interests of the child. Most of the time, this isn’t an issue, particularly when you work with an experienced lawyer who understands what the court will expect to see.

There are other cases, though, where the custody decision, for whatever reason, cannot be reached by an agreement between the couple and will have to be settled by the court. This can often turn into a challenging and contentious process. It can be critical to have a good family lawyer representing you and making your case before the court.

What Does a Chino Hills Child Custody Lawyer Do?

For those facing a child custody decision, working with a skilled lawyer can be a significant help. We can perform a number of different roles and tasks in the process of helping with child custody issues.

One of the primary roles we can have is acting as an advisor. Our understanding of child custody laws and how courts tend to rule on them means we have knowledge and perspective that can be helpful in terms of your child custody goals. We can do everything from helping you understand what options may be helpful for your case to setting expectations around what you could reasonably expect from the courts.

The other thing we can do is help guide you through the child custody process. For many people, a feeling of a lack of control through the child custody process can be particularly tough. Often, knowing you’re working with someone who has been through the process before and understands how things will proceed can help you feel a sense of comfort and stability.

The other major thing that a child custody lawyer does is represent you through the process. Whether before the court or in negotiations, we act as your representative and pursue your interests in the process. In negotiations, we can help you understand what outcome to expect while trying to find an agreement that is fair to all sides.

Before the court, it’s our job to present any evidence that is relevant to the case and advocate for you. We are also responsible for offering a defense against any allegations that are made against you. Additionally, if there are any later attempts to make modifications to the agreement, either initiated by you or the other parent, we can represent you and advocate for you in those situations as well.

What Should You Look for in a Chino Hills Child Custody Lawyer?

As with any time you are hiring a lawyer, you will want to look for someone knowledgeable, experienced, and capable. However, it’s also important that you find someone you are comfortable with and feel confident in. You’re asking a lawyer to represent you regarding some of the most important issues in your life. It’s important that they be someone you trust.

A Chino Hills Child Custody Attorney Ready to Help You With Your Case

There may be no other area of the law that is more emotionally charged than child custody. Most people would give their lives for their children without a second thought. It’s that same love and compassion that makes child custody issues so difficult. Every parent wants to spend as much time with their children as possible, so it can be painful to need to come to some agreement that will limit that time.

At the same time, most parents also understand the value of a child having a healthy relationship with both parents if at all possible. Child custody is an area where it feels like no matter what is decided, it will never feel like the outcome you desire.

Given the seriousness and sensitivity of a child custody case, it’s essential that you work with the right Chino Hills child custody lawyer. You need someone who will fight for you and your kids’ interests while also understanding just how tension-filled the situation can be.

With Steven J. Brown, Attorney At Law, you’ll be working with someone who understands the value of family and how important the outcome of this case is to you. We work hard on behalf of our clients to seek an outcome that gets them the time they need with their children. If you have a child custody situation that you need help with, contact us today.