If divorcing parents have been unable to agree on a child custody arrangement, they may wind up in family court. Judicial decisions about child custody in Suffolk County NY are based on the well-being of the youngsters. In general, the court views shared legal custody as being in the best interests of children. This means both parents are fully involved in a child’s life and any decisions regarding his or her upbringing. That’s true even when the child lives full-time with one parent and only has visitation several days each month with the other. Primary physical custody of children is still more common than shared physical custody because of the logistics involved in having youngsters spend equal amounts of time at each residence.
Conflicts over child custody in Suffolk County NY often fit into two categories. One is when both parents want primary physical custody, knowing that shared physical custody is not an option. They may live in different cities now, for example. The other situation is when the parents have agreed to share physical custody but cannot come to an agreement on the details. A lawyer such as Patricia Issberner may encourage her client to resolve the disagreement with the ex-spouse in structured collaborative sessions or through mediation. This allows both individuals to be at least mostly satisfied with the arrangement they eventually decide on. Leaving it up to a judge can be like rolling dice with little way of knowing what the outcome will be. Click here to learn more about this particular attorney.
If the two cannot agree on which parent has primary physical custody, they’ll be guided to look closely at each of their situations to help determine which would be best for the children. It may become clear that one parent spends a great deal more time at work than the other, for instance, and the children would need to be with a babysitter for many more hours a week. Often, it’s easier to negotiate details of shared physical custody. If one parent is dedicated to spending every Thanksgiving and Christmas with the children, for example, that parent may need to allow some leeway in other aspects of shared time.
