When parents of children are getting divorced, decisions must be made about who the children will live with and whether either parent has more say in aspects such as their education, religious upbringing and extracurricular activities. Sometimes there are disagreements about these matters that cannot seem to be resolved. A Divorce Lawyer in Decatur AL can represent either spouse in the case, while the other must hire a different attorney.
Typical Custodial Arrangements
The most common arrangement is for one parent to have primary or sole physical custody. The other sees the kids on a regular visitation schedule, and may be welcomed to spend additional time with the youngsters as well. Sometimes parents share custody, trying to make their time with the children as equal as possible.
Sole Physical and Legal Custody
Matters can become particularly contentious if one parent decides he or she will insist on having sole physical and legal custody. This is the least common form of child custody after a divorce. It means one parent has all legal rights to make decisions about the youngsters and the other has none, although that parent still can have regular visitation.
Considerations
A Divorce Lawyer in Decatur AL representing this spouse knows that judges rarely approve these petitions for sole legal custody. The court typically rejects a request for sole legal custody if it’s clear that the parent just wants to avoid having to communicate with the ex-spouse.
The client would need to provide evidence that the other parent is unfit to make decisions about their children. There might be evidence of routine illicit drug use or drug addiction, for example. The person may go out to bars and drink excessively every single evening. The parent may have recently been released from prison after being convicted of a violent crime.
All of these can be used by a firm such as ONeal & Kilgo Attorneys at Law in court to convince a judge to grant sole physical and legal custody. Spending time with the kids might be restricted to supervised visitation or daytime visitation with no overnight stays until the parent makes significant lifestyle changes.
