Woodstock Child Custody Lawyer
When you and your co-parent decide to live separately, you must decide how you will raise your children. Custody negotiations can be challenging.
Work with a Woodstock child custody lawyer at our firm. Our team of experienced family attorneys and family law professionals can provide steady guidance and help you reach your parenting goals.
Negotiating a Custody Agreement
Courts strongly encourage parents to work together to decide custody questions. Parents know their children best, recognize each other’s strengths and weaknesses as parents, and understand the practicalities that make a plan workable for their family. Both parents are more likely to buy into a custody arrangement they created themselves.
Divorcing parents or unmarried parents in a custody matter must submit a parenting plan to the family court judge. The plan must detail:
- How the parents share time with the children
- Who is responsible for making decisions about the children’s healthcare, education, and religion
- How parents will resolve disputes between themselves
- Arrangements for child support
Parenting plans also typically contain ground rules for the parents, such as not disparaging each other.
A family court judge must review the parenting plan before incorporating it into an enforceable custody order. Our Woodstock child custody attorney will work with you to ensure the plan meets legal requirements before submitting it to the court.
What If We Cannot Agree?
When parents cannot reach a negotiated custody agreement, each will submit their own plan. The family court judge must decide between them or substitute their own plan. In many cases the judge will appoint one or more third parties to recommend an arrangement that serves the children’s best interests.
These third parties may include a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) for the children. A GAL will meet with you and your co-parent at your homes at least once, and get to know your children. GALs are usually lawyers with special training in custody issues.
The judge could also appoint a custody evaluator, who is a mental health professional. The evaluator will work with all members of the family to assess the family dynamics, and make a custody recommendation based on their findings. Our Woodstock custody attorneys will help you manage your interactions with these third parties to help you reach your custody goals.
The Children’s Best Interests Must Guide All Decisions
The Official Code of Georgia §19-9-3 requires family court judges to prioritize the children’s best interests when making custody decisions. Even when parents successfully negotiate a joint parenting plan, the judge scrutinizes it to ensure it supports the children’s best interests.
Unless one of the parents is unfit, family courts generally favor joint legal custody, meaning that parents share decision-making responsibilities. Similarly, there is a presumption that children benefit from spending substantial time with each parent.
However, judges will consider the effect of shared custody arrangements on the children’s schedule. A judge might question a custody arrangement that requires children to move homes during the school week or spend substantial time traveling between parents. Our seasoned parenting time attorneys in Woodstock can raise these questions before you submit your parenting plan, to ensure that there are reasons for the arrangement that further the children’s best interests.
Contact Our Woodstock Attorneys for Help With Child Custody Issues
Your child custody arrangement is one of the most consequential decisions of your life. It will impact your children forever.
A knowledgeable attorney can guide you through the process and make sure you understand the implications of each decision. Reach out to a Woodstock child custody lawyer on our team today.
