At Santucci Family Law, our foremost concern is that the best interests of the children are represented in all aspects of our clients’ proceedings involving custody. With a wealth of experience in the legal, as well as the psychological aspects of child custody, we advise, consult with and represent both mothers and fathers in negotiating, mediating and litigating custody issues.
We assist clients in focusing on their short and long term child-related goals and counsel them where possible to craft a plan in concert with the developmental stages of their children. In each case with minor children, the custodial rights of both parents must be determined, involving both legal and physical custody.
How does the court take into account the best interests of the child in a custody determination?
The court has broad discretion to determine best interest of the child uh
when a portioning time share between the two parents the Court’s going to assume that spending time with both parents is in the child’s best interest unless there’s a superseding overriding concern the court wants to take into consideration such as maybe a substance abuse issues um that one parent struggles with or perhaps a domestic violence situation that’s gone on um
whether toward the other co-parent or even the child God forbid but the court can definitely take all of that information and will want to know about that when fashioning a time share agreement or a parenting plan that’s in the best interest of the children.
Watch Robyn’s entire interview with ReelLawyers
Legal Custody.
Legal custody refers to which parents (or typically both) have decision making power over the decisions regarding the child’s health, education (including religious training) and welfare.
Physical Custody.
We work with clients to determine the child’s living arrangements. When deciding the optimal “parenting plan” for each child, the court will look to each child’s best interest and will weigh each parent’s drug and alcohol use/abuse, domestic violence (which can be verbal or physical abuse between parents or involving the child) and the quality of co-parenting.
Relocation.
We handle relocation (“move away”) requests where one parent needs to geographically relocate (with the minor children) to another area significantly far away that the normal custodial schedule will be disrupted. Oftentimes, “moveaway” requests result in a severe loss of custody for the non-moving parent and are litigated custodial disputes.
Co-Parenting.
Good co-parenting can lead to a sharp decrease in conflict which in all cases benefits the children. Putting the needs of the children first, while often difficult given the emotions involved, can head off many problems at the “pass.” When embedded conflict leads to obtaining the court’s assistance, we are prepared to put on our client’s most advantageous case.
We are skilled at handling a panoply of custodial disputes including developing a child-sensitive parenting plan appropriate for the family challenges involved, including a substance abuse testing regime, supervised visitation, and co-parenting counseling.
