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Jonathan D. Larose APC
A Divorce and Family Law Firm
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Custody, Visitation, & Child Support

Custody, Visitation, & Child Support: What You Need to Know

Custody: The law strongly prefers each parent have major visitation rights. If you want more custody than the other parent, then you should speak to attorney before you do anything. If you have not been the primary caretake parent, then, you should speak to an attorney before you do anything. 

Joint Legal Custody: This term does not mean what it says. This term does not mean you both need to make every decision. In fact, it means you both have the right to make major decisions without the other parent’s involvement, as long as certain conditions are met. If that is not want you want, then, speak to your attorney. 

Joint Physical Custody: This term does not mean what it says. This term only means each parent may have significant periods of custody. It does not mean those periods of custody must be equal.

Child Support: There are two major pieces of data that set the majority of child support. First, the amount of time, or timeshare, each parent has with the children. Second, the monthly incomes of each parent. A court-sanctioned computer software calculates the amount of child support. 

Custody, Visitation & Child Support – The Next Steps

Custody and Visitation: Details matter. All the little things matter. Your attorney will need to know who your children are, how they have lived, and how they have been raised. Just because you were not the primary caretaker during marriage does not mean you will not have an equal or better visitation, after separation. And, if you were the primary caretaker, then you will want to make sure you continue in that role after separation.

Relocation: Many times, a parent wants to move to a different area with the children after separation. This can be a complicated issue and you should seek a consultation with an attorney highly experienced on this issue, before you take any legal steps. We are highly experienced on the issue of custody relocations.

Custody Evaluations: Custody evaluations are ordered for a variety of reasons. They are assessments put into a report that are usually performed by an expert in the field of parenting. They may be done as part of a request to relocate, as part of a claim of estrangement or alienation, a part of a complex custodial matter or as part of an issue arising from domestic violence or a parent’s ability to care. This is always a complicated issue and intense advance planning needs to be done. We are highly experienced in seeking and obtaining favorable custody evaluations.

Child Support: The financially savvy attorney will make sure all the data going into creating the child support number, is accurate, or properly challenged. There are also a number of ways a child support order can be challenged. 

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