How Does the Court Determine Child Custody?

There are numerous issues which must be considered when a couple decides to obtain a legal separation or divorce. If there are children from the marriage, one of the most important matters to resolve will be determining custody and parenting time. Despite its importance, child custody is often one of the most contested and highly-disputed aspect of divorce proceedings. Most parents want to maintain the exact same relationship status they have established with their children over the years. They don't always realize that the dissolution of their marriage will not only impact the relationship with the former spouse, but with their children as well.

Judges that preside over divorce cases and family law matters in New York City have one primary objective in child custody, and that is seeing that the children's best interests are the guiding principle in any decisions made. Child custody decisions made by the court will reflect this focus on the children's best interests. The parents' interests, requests and objections will all be considered, but the final judgment made by the court will be done in accordance with what is believed to be best for the children. Most judges encourage joint or shared custody as this type of shared parenting time is proven to provide more stability for the children. It also allows both parents to continue playing an active and equal role in their children's lives. In cases where joint custody is not in the children's best interests, or one parent is unable to provide this level of parental involvement due to work or other issue, the court will likely award one parent with sole custody and award the other with visitation rights.

When filing for a legal separation or divorce, it is vital that you retain legal counsel right away. A skilled NYC divorce attorney aggressively advocating on your behalf is an important issue when protecting your parental rights. Our firm has years of experience helping fathers and mothers in all types of child custody cases. We have helped clients maintain a relationship with their child, even though they had never legally adopted the child during the term of the marriage. We have helped fathers establish paternity so that they would be granted the same rights as the mother of a child. We have also helped numerous clients with the protection of parental rights so that they could continue playing a key role in the upbringing of the children. If you need legal representation for a child custody or divorce case, contact H. Benjamin Perez & Associates, P.C.

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