Child Custody Lawyers: Why You Need a Virginia Beach Child Custody Lawyer for Your Legal Case

What You Need To Know About Child Custody Lawyers: Why You Need a Virginia Beach Child Custody Lawyer for Your Legal Case

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  Visitation, Custody, and more: Understanding Family Law in Virginia

  Under family law, the VA court may grant sole legal custody of the children to one parent or joint legal custody to both parents. The primary deciders for the court to grant custody to one parent are based on a number of family law factors commonly described as the “best interest of the child.” Other legal factors that determine child custody after VA divorce include which parent or family member will be able to provide better care and support for the child and who will be able to control and instruct the child.

  However, this is not set in stone in family law in Virginia, meaning the court of law can change who receives custody of the child if they determine a change in the level of care, support, and situation of the parent after the date of the divorce. Some of the child custody legal factors that the court considers when granting custody and visitation under Virginia law include:

  • The parent and the child’s age
  • The mental and physical condition of each parent and child
  • The relationship between each parent and child, and the child’s requirements
  • The role each parent will play in the upbringing of the child
  • The home where the child will reside, and the child’s preference, if they are of appropriate age, maturity, and intellect to make a decision

  Custody of a child after divorce involves two concepts in the law of Virginia —legal custody and physical custody. The parent with legal custody of the child or children in VA has the ability to make major or long-term decisions for the child’s welfare such as education, religious preferences, discipline, non-emergency health decisions, and other related issues. Now the parent with physical custody has the child living mostly with them, and under the VA law, they have the right to make decisions regarding the child’s everyday needs.
  

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  Types of Custody under Virginia law

  Temporary Custody

  Temporary Virginia Beach custody refers to who actually has custody of the child or children at the time of the divorce. Temporary custody is filed in order to formalize child custody before court litigation begins. This is mainly based on the child’s best interest. It is not the final legal decision made by the court but instead, this is assigned while you wait for the Virginia Beach family law court to hold a legal hearing for the child custody case.

  Joint Custody – Legal, Physical, & Special

  This is actually broken down into three categories. Joint Legal Custody means that the parents share the legal responsibility and authority for the care and control of the child after a divorce. They share significant but not essentially equal, physical and custodial care of the child. The child only has one primary residence, either with the mother or father. In Shared Physical Custody, this means that the child has two residences but spends at least a major portion of their time with the other parent. You can also request for Special Joint Custody that is a combination of shared physical and joint legal custody.
  

  Sole Custody with Visitation

  Sole custody with visitation refers to the support and control of the child, from a legal and physical standpoint. In practice, this means the child resides with a single custodial parent and the non-custodial parent may have specific visitation rights, as determined by the Virginia Beach court.

  Split Custody

  Split custody refers to when multiple children are involved in the divorce proceedings, and each parent is seeking legal custody. The best example of this is if they have two children and each parent has full custody over one child. This form of child custody is decided based on the child’s age and preference.

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  Legal factors considered for custody and visitation in Virginia family law

  These are some of the legal factors that the Virginia family law court has to consider in order to determine the best interests of the child for successful custody and visitation after divorce:

  Primary Caregiver

  This parent should have the ability to take care, support, feed, and provide for the child or children. The parent should be the child’s primary person to go to for help and support.

  Physical and Psychological Fitness

  This parent should be physically and psychologically capable of looking after the child. The VA court may also check if there is evidence of abuse, injury, or crimes by a party against the other parent, the party’s spouse, or anyone residing IN the party’s household.

  The Child’s Legal Guardian Preference

  Knowing the child’s preference is important but it’s rare for the court to hear from a child under 7 years of age. A child of 10 or 12 years of age is certainly entitled to give their opinions which will help with the legal process of child custody after divorce.

  Age, Health, and Gender of Child

  Each of these factors is very critical when determining child custody and visitation in Virginia Beach. For example, if the child needs special care or support, is too young to decide for themselves, or is closer to the same-sex parent, the Virginia family law court will have to take these into consideration when deciding which parents get child custody.

  Ability to Maintain Family Relationships

  The VA court of law has to know who is more willing to allow the child to speak to their ex-mother–in–law for example. This is important especially if the child has a very close bond with the family and still wants to keep the family intact.

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  Working with a Law Firm or a Child Custody Lawyer

  Divorce can be a messy and challenging process for the entire family. From dealing with the emotional strain of separating from your spouse to managing the practical implications of splitting your assets so that you, your ex, and your children can live happily and comfortably in the future, the entire process can be highly stressful. That’s why using VA lawyers who specialize in child custody law, child support, and visitation rights is key when children are involved in divorce. Your child custody lawyer or law firm in Virginia Beach will be able to help you through this difficult process for the following reasons:

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  Full understanding of your situation

  We’ve helped thousands of clients win their child custody cases. Your case could be next by calling for a free consultation with one of our child custody attorneys.