Germantown, MD Child Custody Lawyers

Attorneys Helping Parents Resolve Child Custody Disputes in Germantown, Maryland

When parents decide to separate or get a divorce, they will need to determine how they will share responsibility for their children going forward. Child custody cases involve much more than where a child will live. Parents will need to determine how they will share decision-making authority, put day-to-day parenting schedules in place, and address other concerns that may affect the best interests of their children going forward.

Dealing with the legal issues related to child custody can feel overwhelming, especially when parents disagree about what is best for their children and when one parent is a narcissist who puts their own needs and desires first rather than focusing on their children's best interests. At Diamant Gerstein, LLC, our attorneys have the experience, legal knowledge, and dedication to help our clients address family law matters related to child custody. We take the time to listen to each family's specific circumstances, explain the legal issues that will need to be addressed in plain language, and work with clients to build strategies that will help them achieve their goals. We focus on securing results that will protect the well-being of children while helping our clients maintain strong family relationships.

Legal Custody Versus Physical Custody

In general, child custody is separated into two categories. Legal custody refers to the right to make major decisions about a child's life, including choices about education, medical care, religious upbringing, and general welfare. Physical custody refers to where a child will live on a day-to-day basis and how their time will be divided between their parents. Our lawyers work with clients to put legal and physical custody arrangements in place that will protect their children's best interests.

Factors Considered in Decisions About Legal Custody

When family courts address legal custody, they will look closely at whether parents can work together to make decisions about how their children will be raised. The issues that may be considered when making decisions about how legal custody will be handled include:

• Stability and Welfare of the Child: Courts will consider how proposed arrangements will affect children's health and safety while taking steps to maintain stability in their lives.
• Continuing Contact With Parents: Steps may be taken to ensure that children will have regular, frequent contact with both parents, as long as each parent can act in their children's best interests.
• Sharing Parental Responsibilities: Courts will determine whether parents who do not live together will be able to share the responsibilities of raising their children and how they may do so.
• Communication Between Parents: Courts may examine whether parents can discuss child-related issues and reach decisions without ongoing conflict.
• Willingness to Cooperate: When parents share legal custody, they will need to be open to sharing responsibilities and making decisions together rather than insisting on unilateral control.
• Children's Relationships With Parents and Other Family Members: Courts may take steps to ensure that children can maintain relationships with family members who have played an important role in their lives, including parents, siblings, and other relatives.
• Children's Physical and Emotional Well-Being: Courts will take steps to ensure that children's physical and emotional security will be protected while preventing them from being exposed to violence in the home or conflict between parents.
• Children's Developmental Needs: Courts may consider what steps may be taken to protect children's physical safety, emotional well-being, self-esteem, relationships with friends and family, and intellectual development.
• Children's Day-to-Day Needs: Each parent's ability to provide children with food, shelter, clothing, and other needs may be assessed. Other needs may also be considered, including education, social interactions, religion, culture, and physical and mental health.
• Putting Children's Needs Ahead of Parents' Needs: Courts may look at whether each parent is willing to focus on their children's needs ahead of their own while protecting children from being exposed to conflict and making sure they can maintain relationships with both parents and other relatives.
• Children's Ages: The specific ages of different children and their needs at different stages in life may be considered.
• Military Deployment: If either parent is in the military, the effects of deployment on their relationship with their children and their ability to provide care may be considered.
• Previous Court Orders: Any arrangements for child custody that have been used in the past, including informal agreements between parents, may be considered.
• Parental Roles: The ways parents have handled child care tasks in the past may be considered, and courts may also look at how their roles in providing child care have changed since a separation.
• The Locations of Parents' Homes: Courts may determine whether the locations of each parent's home could play a role in their ability to transport children to school, participate in activities, and coordinate parenting time.
• Relationships Between Parents: Courts may look at how well parents can communicate with each other, whether they will be able to work together as parents without causing disruptions in their children's lives, and whether they may be able to resolve any future disputes without the need to handle matters in court.
• Children's Preferences: Courts may consider children's wishes if they believe that a child is at an appropriate age and maturity level to express their preferences.
• Other Relevant Factors: Any other information that may determine how to protect children's best interests and serve their needs may be considered.

These factors may be considered by courts in contested child custody cases. However, in many cases, parents can work together to reach agreements on how they will share legal custody and work together to raise their children. By considering these issues and addressing their children's needs, they can put arrangements in place that will encourage cooperation.

Considerations for Physical Custody Arrangements

Physical custody arrangements will determine when children will live or spend time with each parent on a regular basis. When creating physical custody schedules, parents will need to consider several practical issues, including:

• School Schedules and Daily Routines: A visitation or parenting time schedule will need to account for the times when children will be picked up and dropped off at school, when they will participate in extracurricular activities, and other regular routines.
• Distance Between Homes: When determining a workable schedule, parents will need to account for transportation. Depending on how far apart the parents live from each other, overnight stays with one parent on school nights may or may not be beneficial for children.
• Work Schedules: The demands of each parent's job may affect the times when they will be available to care for children.
• Age of the Child: The schedules specifying when children will stay with each parent may be different for younger children than for teenagers. Older children may have more independence, and their daily routines may include school, activities, part-time jobs, and time spent with friends. Children's preferences may play a role in decisions about physical custody in some cases.

A child custody agreement will include a detailed schedule that ensures that everyone understands when children will live in each parent's home. The schedule will cover weekdays, weekends, holidays, and school vacations. An agreement will also detail how the transportation of children will be handled, locations where children may be exchanged, and any other issues that may affect a family.

Can a De Facto Parent Receive Custody?

In some cases, a person other than a child's biological parent may serve in a parental role, and they may need to take steps to ensure that they can maintain a relationship with a child after the end of a relationship. For example, a stepparent may have formed a strong bond with their stepchild, and after a separation or divorce, they may want to make sure they can continue serving in a parental role, even if they would not normally have parental rights.

In these situations, a person who has been recognized as a "de facto" parent with the consent of the child's legal parents may take steps to ensure that they will have custody and visitation rights. In general, a person may be given the status of a de facto parent if the child's parents had allowed and encouraged a relationship that was "parent-like," the person has lived in the same home as the child, they have taken on significant parental responsibilities, and they have established a bond with the child. When securing child custody rights as a de facto parent, legal representation can be crucial to ensure that a person will be able to protect their relationship with a child.

Contact Our Germantown Child Custody Attorneys

Decisions about child custody can affect nearly every part of a family's daily life, from school pickups to holiday plans. The decisions made in these cases can have an impact on parents and children for years. Legal help from a skilled attorney can be essential when addressing concerns about child custody. At Diamant Gerstein, LLC, we can advise parents of their options, help them understand the laws that will apply in their cases, and advocate for arrangements that will provide for children's best interests. To set up a consultation, contact our Germantown, MD child custody dispute lawyers at 301-560-2685.