Child custody issues in California family law can result through the initiation of dissolution of marriage (divorce) proceedings, legal separation, annulment, or paternity proceedings. Child custody issues can arise even if the parties are not legally separated, but live apart.
There are various classifications of child custody in the state of California such as; Sole legal and physical custody, primary physical and legal custody, shared physical and legal custody, and no right to custody.
In the case of married couples, the father or the mother have the same right to custody of the minor children of the marriage, before a court ruling is issued. If you are thinking of getting divorced, filing for divorce, legally separating, or living apart, it is very important to get court orders that articulate your child custody rights as soon as possible. Without court orders, a child who, say, lives with the mother (or father) could be legally taken by the other parent in the absence of court orders. If you have minor children from the marriage, it is important to file an order to show cause for child custody along with any petition for dissolution of marriage or legal separation paperwork, so you can obtain a court order that articulates your custody rights. of the children. .
The court primarily focuses on what is best for the child when determining who is entitled to what type of custody of a minor child of the marriage. Although it sounds simple, child custody and visitation issues under California law are quite complicated and should not be litigated without the help of an experienced attorney.
Formerly it was thought that children should be with their mother. Today, however, the court looks at many factors to determine who gets what kind of custody of minor children. If you are a mother, you should not assume that you will automatically get custody of the children. If you are a father, you have an equal chance of getting primary custody of the children.
Entire law books have been written on the subject of child custody.
If you have child custody issues in Southern California and would like a free consultation about your case, please call our law firm at 818-739-1544 extension 10 or you can click here to go to our family law website.
By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Lic., © 2006
