The welfare of a child or children during a divorce can be a hard and trying situation. Consultation with an attorney experienced with divorce and family law proceedings can help secure the most appropriate situation for your child in a new post-divorce family. It may be particularly useful to have a lawyer if you have a contested custody issue or if the other party involved is using an attorney.
When the courts decide custody of a child, they take into consideration what they believe to be in the child's best interest. This can include who the primary caregiver is, the physical and psychological health of the parties seeking custody, the financial resources available, the child's preference, character and reputation of the parties seeking custody, the residences and opportunities for visitations of other family members, and if the parties have a history of abandonment.
In the state of Pennsylvania, if the parents are unmarried, the child is by default awarded to the mother. If the father wishes to assert rights to the child, including custody and visitation, paternity must be admitted or established in court. Paternity can be established by judicial determination, the father's acknowledgement of paternity in writing, the father's open recognition, or by marrying the mother and acknowledging himself as the father.
Child custody can be broken down into legal and physical custody.
Legal custody - Legal custody of a child allows the party to make major decisions regarding the child's life. These decisions include education, non-emergency medical care, religious training, discipline and other long term plans.
Physical Custody - Physical custody means that the party is allowed to have the child live with them and make decisions on the child's immediate everyday needs.
Legal and physical custody can be assigned in one of three ways.
Sole Custody - The party is assigned both legal and physical custody of the child. When sole custody is awarded, the child has only one permanent residence.
Split Custody - Split custody is when each parent receives physical custody over at least one child involved.
Joint Custody - Joint custody can be setup in one of three ways. The parents can set up joint legal custody where both parents share the responsibility of the child's upbringing, but the child has only one legal residence. Joint physical custody means the child has two residences and spends at least 35% of their time at the other parent's home. There are also laws allowing the parents to set up a custom agreement that can be any combination of joint legal and physical custody.
Visitation
Visitation is the part of the custodial order that defines the conditions of the non-custodial party (parties) to have contact with the child. Normally, the parent or persons who are affected by the visitation law in the custody case do not have a right to make major decisions in the child's life. In Pennsylvania, visitation can be granted to the parent who is not awarded sole custody, the grandparents, and step-parents.
The person who is awarded visitation must be sure to follow the court order exactly. It is a punishable crime to not return the child on time to the parent who was awarded custody.
Child Support
When a family suffers from divorce or separation, they lose the financial stability they once had. In order for the parent who is awarded custody of the child to make ends meet, it is sometimes required for the other party involved to pay child support. Child support is the responsibility of both parties involved.
In Pennsylvania, the amount of child support to be paid is based on a proportion of each parent's income. Child support payments are intended to be used for shelter, food, clothing, education, and medical expenses for the child only. Once assigned, child support must be maintained until either the child reaches age of majority, gets emancipated, dies, or the courts make a new ruling.
Child support is not optional once it is decided in a court of law. Any changes to child support must be handled and approved in the court. Generally, oral contracts between the two parties are not honored. Child support is upheld by the law and failure to pay can result in imprisonment and or garnishing of wages.
At Munley,
Munley & Cartwright, our attorneys strive to achieve the highest standard of excellence for the
protection of individual rights through team work and the use of our
considerable resources and experience. While we do not handle family law
concerns directly, please feel free to contact our office for additional
information or for an attorney referral.
1-800-318-LAW1
DISCLAIMER:
Attorney Advertising. Prior Results Do Not Guarantee a Similar Outcome.
Representation in jurisdictions where our attorneys are not already licensed is
performed in conjunction with local
counsel / lawyers - at no additional legal fees to our clients - and with
permission of the court.
