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You may file a Petition
For Custody and Support Of Minor Children if you can answer “yes” to
any of the following:
•Are you married to the other parent and no
action for divorce, legal separation,
or annulment is pending in any other
court?
•If not married, have you and the other
parent signed a Voluntary Declaration of
Paternity regarding the minor
children, and no action regarding the children has
been filed in any other
court?
•Have you and the other parent been
determined to be the parents in a juvenile
or governmental child support
case?
A child custody case
will not divorce you nor establish a parental relationship, it will only
address your issues of child custody, visitation, and child support.
Child custody can also
be addressed through a divorce or a paternity case.
When people think of
child custody, they are usually referring to physical custody. However,
when the court addresses custody, it is broken down into legal custody and
physical custody.
When parents exercise
joint legal custody, they share in the responsibility and are supposed to
confer in good faith on matters concerning the health, education, and
welfare of the children. This usually includes any decisions regarding:
•Enrollment in or leaving a particular
private or public school or daycare center
•Participation in particular religious
activities or institutions
•Beginning or ending of psychiatric,
psychological, or other mental health
counseling or therapy
•Selection of a doctor, dentist, or other
health professional (except in emergency
situations)
•Participation in extracurricular activities
•Out-of-country or out-of-state travel
If the parents cannot
agree, one parent must file for a hearing so that a judge can rule upon
whatever issue is outstanding to obtain a resolution.
As to physical custody,
the parents can be awarded joint physical custody or one parent can be
awarded sole physical custody. In either case, the parent who is deemed the
secondary custodial parent or non-custodial parent is usually awarded a
specific visitation schedule setting forth their custodial time with the
children.
The issue of child
custody can be modified until the time that the children have reached the
age of eighteen, or, if the children are nineteen and still attending high
school any time that there is a problem with the current custody orders if
the circumstances warrant it.
Contact Information:
Telephone (310) 365-2800
E-mail
PremierLegalDocs@aol.com
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