3 Tips Finding The Best Child Custody Lawyer To Represent Your Case
When you and your partner are thinking about separating, concerns may arise in relation to arranging for the future care of your children.
When contemplating on what would be in the best interests of the children, you and your partner may not see eye-to-eye on everything. If you believe that your partner is not going to be cooperative in negotiating an appropriate custody agreement for the child or that it is inappropriate for the children to be in your partner’s care for safety and welfare reasons, it is highly recommended that you seek legal advice from an experienced Divorce Lawyer and Family Law Firm who are experienced in Child Custody Law.
The role of your Divorce Lawyer when it comes to parenting arrangements and child custody is extremely important no matter what stage of negotiations you and your partner are currently at. When you first approach a Family Lawyer in Sydney, they can help you negotiate a Parenting Agreement that may deal with the following matters:
1. Which parent will make decisions about the children’s welfare;
2. How many nights will the children spend in each parent’s home;
3. Who will your children spend time with and when will that be;
4. Whether time with the children should be conditional on the behaviour of the parent who spends time with the children;
5. Where your child will attend school; and
6. Christmas, birthdays, holidays and overseas travel arrangements.
In most cases, the Court presumes that both parents are fit to have equal shared parental responsibility for the children. This means that whilst the children may live with one parent, both parents are jointly involved and must consult each other when deciding on any major or long-term matters that may affect the children. For example, this may include what schools the children attend or the type of medical treatment that the children should receive.
Whilst it is best to reach an agreement early in the process, sometime this is difficult when the other party is violent or abusive. Sometimes it might be desirable or even necessary to have the matter proceed to litigation. For example, if you believe it is vital that you achieve sole parental responsibility over the children due to the potential risk of the other parent exposing the children to physical and/or psychological harm or when the parents cannot communicate effectively, have conflicting views on numerous issues. Sole parental responsibility is often difficult to achieve as the Family Court is generally reluctant to grant it. This is where an experienced family lawyer with expertise in child custody is crucial to assisting you in presenting your children’s best interests to the Family Court.
To alleviate some of the pressures in finding a good child custody lawyer, our Family Law and Divorce lawyers in Sydney have three tips to share with you in order for you to find the best child custody lawyer to represent your case.
1. EXPERIENCE
It goes without saying that it is important for a child custody lawyer to have experience working on child custody cases. In NSW the best Family Lawyers with experience in child custody are family law accredited specialists with the NSW Law Society. You should ensure that your Family Lawyer or Divorce Lawyer is an Accredited Specialist in Family Law with the NSW Law Society.
Our Accredited Specialist Family Law and Divorce lawyers recommend that when you are consulting with a child custody lawyer you ask them about their experience with child custody cases and what kinds of results they have achieved and of course whether they are an Accredited Specialist in Family Law with the NSW Law Society.
After they have told you about themselves, you should make sure that your family lawyers experience is suitable to your needs. You should first tell them about your situation and then ask what their strategy will be when working on your case. Remember, not every case is the same and it is important to have a child custody lawyer who really understands your case on an individual level. However, this is not to say that the child custody lawyer should simply accept all your instructions at face value. Your family lawyer should be able to review your instructions and determine whether there is a more suitable and realistic outcome that would be in your interests and your children’s best interests.
2. COMFORT AND COMPATIBILITY
When speaking to the child custody lawyer, our Family Law and Divorce Lawyers strongly advise you to choose someone who makes you feel comfortable and understood. Rather than viewing you as another business transaction, the child custody lawyer should be supportive and empathetic as well as informative and highly transparent every step of the way. They should be able to point you towards the right direction as to what may be in the best interests of the child in the Family Court’s view. If your child custody lawyer cannot comprehend what would be in the best interests of the child and your matter proceeds to Family Court, they usually would not be able to properly present your case to the Family Court.
3. ACCESSIBILITY
A child custody lawyer should be accessible. Issues surrounding the care of children may change suddenly and you may be left in the situation where you need to consult your family law firm and divorce lawyer before making a rash decision that may negatively impact your case. For example, when the other parent is consistently not being cooperative on a previous agreement relating to the children and it is causing significant disruption to your child’s relationship with you, the child custody lawyer should be able to be readily contactable and provide you with immediate advice to guide you in the right direction.