What happens when parents cannot come to a child custody agreement?

March 15, 2013 (Press-News.org) What happens when parents cannot come to a child custody agreement?

Article provided by Law Offices of Jonathan W. Fein
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When a couple decides that they can no longer make their marriage or relationship work, they begin taking the necessary steps toward ending their relationship. This can be an extremely emotional time, leaving both parties to wonder what went wrong.

When a couple has children, they will need to determine a child custody arrangement that will meet the needs of both parents, as well as the child. This can become a highly contentious matter, and it can be a challenge to find the common ground necessary to move forward.

In California, parents will need to determine how they will handle legal and physical custody of the child. Legal custody generally refers to the ability to make decisions for the child, such as where he or she will attend school. Sometimes parents share this decision-making power to allow both to remain involved in any important decisions that may arise. Physical custody refers to where the child stays. In many situations, one of the parents will be the one who the child resides with the majority of the time, although 50-50 time sharing plans are becoming more and more common.

Both parents will want to be able to spend time with the child, no matter how custody ends up decided and every child is entitled to frequent and continuing contact with both parents. Parents therefore need to work together to try to find a parenting plan that allows each parent to continue to play a role in the child's life.

Occasionally, couples are unable to work out their own child custody agreements. In these situations, the court will be asked to determine the custody agreement that both parties will need to follow. This may lead to situations where both parties are upset at the result, with neither side getting the time that they really want with the child.

Courts in California base their child custody rulings on the best interests of the child. Several factors will play a role in the court's decision, including the safety of the child with one parent, the amount of contact the child will be able to have with the noncustodial parent, the fitness of the parents to provide for the child, as well as other information that the court may consider important.

If you have concerns about parenting plans or child custody issues, speak to an experienced family law attorney about your specific situation. Each family is different, and may have different needs. It is important that you understand all of the decisions that you have to make at this time.

Once these agreements are approved by the court, a material change in circumstances is generally needed to make any changes to them. While this can be a difficult time, do not simply agree to the other parents demands without considering all of your options.