As a parent, it can be intimidating and frightening to realize you need to hire a child custody attorney. Despite the best efforts to fairly divide parenting responsibilities during the divorce process, there are times when the settlement agreement is no longer in the best interest of the child (or children), and legal counsel and proceedings may be necessary to bring about a safer and/or healthier environment.
How a Child Custody Lawyer Can Help
It’s important to know that child custody orders can be changed or modified after they have been issued in your original divorce proceedings. In fact, some judges choose to draft orders in a way that anticipates many of the child custody changes that could possibly occur as time progresses. Such instances include when a parent is no longer mentally or physically fit to provide care. If a child custody order needs to be modified, it typically requires another court hearing to re-establish each parent’s custody rights based upon each child’s best interests.
Finding the right child custody lawyer can be time consuming. However, if you are serious about regaining or establishing sole custody of your child or children, then you need to find an attorney with the necessary background and expertise. If possible, contact the family law attorney you worked with for your divorce, but if that is not possible, start conducting research. Online or local community support groups for divorced or single parents will provide you with the opportunity to connect with other parents who have gone through similar experiences and can provide you with advice and recommendations for finding a child custody attorney that can handle your case.
Once you have a few names of attorneys that specialize in child custody, take some time to pull together the history and details of your case. The more information you can provide about your divorce and your current situation regarding custody, the better the attorney you are consulting with will be able to help you. In addition to your background, you’ll also want to pose the following questions to your child custody lawyer:
Find the Right Child Custody Lawyer: Questions to Ask
Background Questions
- How many child custody cases do you handle each year?
- How often do you handle child custody cases similar to mine?
- Do you have experience with mediation for child custody cases?
Philosophy Regarding Children
- What is the lawyer’s style or approach when it comes to involving younger children?
- How would the lawyer interact with a child or children who are adolescents?
Providing an Assessment of Your Case
- Intial issues could impact this case as it’s been described?
- How long might it take to resolve the child custody issues as described?
- Would mediation or arbitration work for this case?
- What are the reasonable expectations for this case?
- Could taking parenting classes, documenting visits, engaging in counseling, etc. improve the possible outcomes of the case?
Daily Management of the Case
- Who in the office will be handling child custody negotiations and court appearances?
- What are the best ways to contact the lawyer and provide updates and information?
- Fees and Payment Schedules
- What would the estimated total costs for this particular case be?
- Does the lawyer accept monthly payments to spread the cost out over time?
Other Considerations
In addition to finding a skilled and experienced child custody lawyer and the issues involved in your case, you will also want your attorney to be experienced in the specific court your case will be presented in, as well as having a good reputation and history with the judges that could be assigned to hear your case. Although a lawyer represents you and your case, it’s important that they be respected and well known by the judges, other lawyers, and child service caseworkers that may be involved in your case.
Contact Laura Monty Law
If you are searching for an experienced child custody lawyer in Northern Colorado or the Larimer County or Fort Collins region, and want to explore a variety of legal options, do not hesitate to contact Laura Monty Law. We provide collaborative divorce representation, divorce mediation services, legal advising for uncontested divorces and contested divorces, and a full array of divorce, child custody and family law services to meet your needs. We strongly believe in taking a compassionate approach to family law, and recognize that every situation is unique.
I appreciate the list of things to look for in a child lawyer because I think that it is important to make sure that they are someone that you can trust with your needs. Because custody is something that is so hard to determine, I think that it would be essential to have a lawyer present while the arrangements are being made to ensure that the custody is split in a way that works for everyone. I will make sure to remember the list of questions that you mentioned when looking for a child custody lawyer.
I like how you suggest asking the family law attorney I am working with for my divorce to see if she has any suggestions about child custody lawyers. As you can guess, my husband and I are getting a divorce, and I want to be sure that I get custody of our son. Your questions should really help me find a good attorney to represent me.
Not many people have to look for a child custody attorney on a regular basis, so it is really nice to have an idea of what kind of questions you need to ask. I particularly like that one of the questions revolves around if the attorney will work the kids into the case. After all, this can be a huge point of contention when it comes to child custody cases, so you want to make sure that you’re okay with the attorney’s philosophy regarding involving children in the case.
I never knew how important it is to ask a custody lawyer what mediation experience they have to ensure they have handled similar cases. My sister is going through the divorce process right now. Hopefully, she can use these tips to find an expert that can help make sure she can take care of her children long term.