There is no denying the fact that you want to spend as much time as possible with your children after divorce. This holds true both for the parent who has physical custody, as well as the one who has visitation rights.
2 unusual types of shared parenting arrangements
We all know about joint custody, 50-50 custody and sole custody when it comes to shared parenting arrangements. But there are certain less-than-common ways that co-parents organize their time with their kids. Some of these ways push against the limits of what general society considers "acceptable, normal behavior." At our law firm, however, we encourage parents to explore all of their options -- and get creative -- to find a parenting solution that works for them, even if others find it to be uncouth or strange.
When is the best time to establish paternity?
Many Florida parents have suffered due to questions about establishing paternity. Often, the one who wants to establish paternity is the father so that he can pursue the right to spend time with his children via regularly scheduled visitations. It might also be the mother, who pursues child custody in order to receive child support payments. Whether you're the mother or the father of a child, the best time to establish paternity is at the hospital, just after your child is born.
When can a parent lose child custody?
Florida family law courts generally want both of a child's biological parents to be involved in that child's care. Shared visitation is generally the preferred method for handling every custody situation -- when possible.
What are the characteristics of a non-custodial parent?
When you're fighting for full physical custody of your child, it means that you want to be the primary caretaker of your son or daughter, and you want the other parent to merely have visitation rights. If you succeed, you will be known as the "custodial parent," and your child will live with you full time. Meanwhile, the other parent will be characterized as the "noncustodial parent" and have the right to visit the child according to a regular visitation schedule.
Plan for changes in visitation to avoid arguments
Visitation is a major sticking point in almost every divorce case involving children. No parent wants to lose time with their child, so having to divide time is difficult.
How to make a long-distance parenting plan
Parents are not always lucky enough to live close to one another. When two parents share custody, but they live a long distance apart, they will need to make strategic use of holiday schedules to ensure that the noncustodial parent -- i.e., the parent with whom the children do not live -- gets to continue spending quality time with children.
These celebrities battled in court over their kids
Anyone who glances at the news from time to time is well aware of the fact that celebrities are prone to having relationship troubles. Even worse, those who are married tend to have ugly divorce proceedings when lots of money and children are involved. Here are three examples of celebrity child custody battles and their results:
Brad Pitt gets to see his children every other day
In spite of an intense custody battle with his estranged spouse, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt has recently spent every other day with his six children. This every-other-day visitation arrangement has begun after the recent expiration of the couple's temporary summer custody agreement. At this time, the couple's court-ordered custody evaluation has not been completed, so permanent legal arrangements are pending.
Sharing holiday time with the other parent of your kids
Barring rare circumstances, the other parent of your children will usually share custody with you -- and at the very least, this parent will have visitation rights. This means that when important holidays come around, you'll have to find a way of sharing this time with the other parent of your kids.
