righttread
|
| 1.
What are parental rights and responsibilities?
|
The
"allocation of parental rights and responsibilities" is what we once
called custody. It is the court's determination, or the parties agreement
as to how each parent will be responsible for the development and well
being of their children. These orders can include things like
visitation/parenting time schedules, school district designation, and
child support.
Go to top
|
Sole
custody refers to a situation where the children are based with one parent
who is primarily responsible for their care. The other parent spends
"parenting time" with the children, typically weekends, summer times and
holidays. If custody is in dispute the court must decide what is best for
the children in terms of who should be custodial parent.
Go to top
|
| 3.
How does the court decide custody? |
The
primary consideration for a court is what is in the "best interests" of
the child. The law directs the court to examine the following factors when
determining what is in the best interests of the child.
1. The
parents wishes.
2. The child's wishes, as expressed to the court.
3
The child's interaction and relationship with his parents, siblings, and
any other person who may significantly affect the child's best
interest.
4. The child's adjustment to his home, school, and
community.
5. The mental and physical health of all persons involved in
the situation.
6. The parent more likely to honor and facilitate
visitation and parenting time rights approved by the court.
7. Whether
either parent has failed to make all child support payments, including all
arrearages, that are required of that parent pursuant to a child support
order under which that parent is an obligor.
8. Whether either parent
previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any criminal offense
involving any act that resulted in a child being an abused child or a
neglected child.
9, Whether the residential parent or one of the
parents subject to a shared parenting decree has continuously and
willfully denied the other parent his or her right to visitation in
accordance with an order of the court.
10. Whether either parent has
established a residence, or is planning to establish a residence, outside
this state.
Go to top
|
| 4.
My child is "X" years old, is that old enough to choose which parent to
live with? |
Contrary
to popular opinion, whether a child is 3 or 17 they never get to choose
where to live. Without an agreement between the parties the court makes
the decision based upon what is best for the child. In certain cases a
child may be asked to talk directly with the court, and at that time the
child's age may play apart in how the court assess the child's opinion,
but in no case is the decision left to the child.
Go to top
|
| 5.
What is "shared parenting"? |
Shared
parenting is a term used to apply to an agreement or court order, in which
both parents retain equal and full custodial rights of their children. The
parties agree to "share" custody and equally participate in the raising of
there children after the marriage is over.
Despite the term "shared", the
plan still must make arrangements for visitation/parenting time, child
support etc. While it is envisioned that the parties will be in full
agreement with the day-to-day issues of their children, the plan still
must define the rights of each parent to give guidance in the event of a
dispute.
The drafting of these plans as well as their appropriateness to
your situation is an extremely important matter. Our office can guide you
and help determine what best fits for you and your children. Contact us today
for a free case evaluation covering this and all other forms of custodial arrangements.
Go to
top |
| 6.
What's the difference between shared parenting and sole custody?
|
Over
time the differences between these two custodial arrangements have faded
significantly. Today a non-residential (non-custodial) parent has many
more rights. These include access to medical and school records, along
with being informed and being allowed to attend school and extracurricular
activities outside of their normal visitation. Still though major decision
in a child's life are reserved for the residential (custodial) parent.
Go to
top |
| 7.
Will I have to pay or can I get child support?
|
Child
support is mandated by Ohio law. Child support is based upon the incomes
of both parents, taking in to consideration expenses such as daycare and
health care for the children. It is important to remember that child
support calculations do not take in to consideration expenses unrelated to
the child, such as mortgages or car loans.
Contrary to popular belief both
parties pay child support. The support figure arrived at is paid by both
parents based upon a percentage of income earned. Since the children are
generally based with one parent, the other parent's percentage is then
transferred to the parent housing the children. Therefore, even if the
parties have a shared parenting agreement, child support may still have to
be paid. To find out how much child support will be in your case contact us today for a free case evaluation.
Go to top
|
| 8.
Can custody be changed? |
The
court always has the ability to change custodial relations after a divorce
if it finds that a change in circumstances of the child has occurred and
that a change is now in the best interest of the child.
Go to top
|
| 9.
What should I tell the children? |
While
there are differing opinions on this issue it is important to keep in mind
that this was your marriage and this is your divorce. The children did not
cause it, are not responsible for it, and while it should be a explained
to them they should be kept out of the process at all times. Sadly, this
is not always the case and parents insist on discussing what otherwise
should obviously be adult matters with the children. Sometimes this is
because they have no one to turn to but the children. Sometimes this is
because they are attempting to manipulate the children's attitudes towards
the other spouse. For whatever reason this is irresponsible and wrong and
may very well lead to long term problems with the children.
You
are their parent and will continue to be their parent for the rest of
their lives. The end of your marriage does not mean the end of your
parental obligations to ensure that your children develop happy and
healthy. If possible it is probably best to explain to the children,
together, that the marriage is ending, that it is not their fault that
they are loved and that they will be able to interact with both parents as
much as possible. If the situation between you and your spouse is so bad
that it is impossible to speak to the children together, then at bear minimum parents should refrain from
speaking ill of the other spouse or involving the children in any way in
the details of the divorce.
This can be difficult especially in
the case of older children, older children often wish to be more involved
and even of their own volition wish to take sides. If the well being of
your children is paramount then the older child's desire to become
involved should be discouraged.
In extreme cases it may be
necessary to engage the family with a professional counselor to get the
children through this difficult time. Even parents that cannot agree on
the simplest of things ought to be able to agree that they love their
children and wish the best for them.Click Here for information and tips on how to help you and your children survive divorce. Click Here for information and tips on how to handle a contested custody dispute.
Go to top
|
| 10.
What is parental alienation? |
Parental alienation is a term used to describe the situation where one
parent is intentionally attempting to get the children to terminate their
relationship with the other parent. Alienation can be as subtle as simply
failing to note when the other parent calls so that the children can not call
them back or it can be as extreme as outwardly telling the children
negative things about the other parent and refusing to allow the children
to see the other parent.
It is becoming more and more recognized by courts
that parental alienation is a real syndrome and a real danger to children.
If you suspect parental alienation you should do everything that you can
to stop it immediately. In extreme cases the only cure for such bad
behavior of one parent is to change the custodial relationship between the
parties.
Go to top
|
Back
to divorce info
|
leftread
|
