For many divorcing parents, child custody is the most contentious and fought-over aspect of the divorce process. Children are the most important aspect of life for most parents, and it’s difficult to imagine not having them with us every night.
In most cases in which minor children are involved, one parent will have primary (physical) custody, and the other will have parenting rights to see their children. Parenting rights typically provide the non-custodial parents with the right to keep children at their house at certain times, such as having the children every other weekend, and one night during each week.
We help clients to understand the general parameters that govern child custody in Indiana. First, there is not a presumed custodial parent – in other words, courts do not automatically favor mothers over fathers.
Second, Indiana law favors significant “parenting time” with both parents, not necessarily because it is in the best interests of the parents, but because it is in the best interests of the children. As a result, courts will not take away or limit the parenting time of a parent who “caused” the divorce, such as through infidelity. Instead, the only reasons that courts limit or deny custody are when other issues exist, such as past abuse of the children, or if the parent is a drug addict or alcoholic and thus is not able to properly care for their children because of these reasons.
Third, it is important to understand that as a divorcing parent, it will almost always be better for you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse to develop a “win-win” custody situation if possible rather than to leave custody determinations up to a judge (who will not have to live with the consequences of the ruling).
Our Goal is to Help Clients Obtain their Desired Custody Arrangements
By focusing on client custody objectives rather than the facts behind the break-up of the marriage, we are often able to help clients reach amicable solutions without the time and significant cost of a court trial. However, there are occasionally situations where acceptable resolutions cannot be reached. In these circumstances, we take our direction from our clients concerning the litigation path that they want to pursue, and we work vigorously toward seeking the judicial outcome desired by our clients.
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Please call us so that we can learn about your case.
