In a divorce, one of the most difficult aspects is how to decide on child custody and child visitation. Each parent should be represented by a Child Custody Lawyer Jacksonville to ensure that the parent’s rights are respected as well as the well-being of the children involved. Without lawyers to help negotiate and calm a tense situation, parents may be tempted to be led by their emotions, and things can quickly devolve into hurtful yelling matches that accomplish nothing for any of the parties involved and only make negotiations worse.
Among the issues that a Child Custody Lawyer Jacksonville can help parents with are creating parenting agreements during the divorce negotiations and helping negotiate time for the non-custodial parent to have visitation. After a divorce, sometimes the custodial parent decides to take the children and move out of state. The custodial parent needs fair representation in their effort to do that, just as the non-custodial parent needs fair representation in their quest to fight the other parent’s attempt to relocate. The judge has to decide whether or not to allow it if it’s in the child’s best interest.
A Child Custody Lawyer Jacksonville can also help parents with post-divorce child visitation agreements. The original agreement that was created during the divorce may have fit all parties at that time, but down the line, things can change besides one parent moving away with the children. One of the parents may become unemployed or have a drop in income. One of the parents or one of the kids could develop a serious health issue.
Besides representing parents, child custody attorneys may represent other relatives who have not been allowed to have a relationship with the child. Grandparents, great-grandparents, and adult-age siblings all may have visitation rights under the law if certain conditions are present, such as the parents are not married and not living under the same roof, or if one of the parents is deceased, missing, in jail, or incompetent, or if the parents are divorced or separated and at least one of them agrees to allow visitation with the relative. There are other issues for unmarried parents who are deciding on the custody of their children when they split up, and both parties should consult a lawyer so they understand both their rights and what is expected of them.
