Protecting The Best Interests Of Your Child
Nothing is more important to a parent than their children. One of the most emotionally charged issues that may arise in a divorce or paternity matter is a child custody dispute. At Macksoud Macksoud & Davis, LLP, we encourage our clients to put their children’s best interests first in attempting to resolve child custody disputes.
However, we understand that even the most well-intended parents can have genuine disagreements about what custodial arrangement is best for the welfare of a child. When disputes arise, whether they may be resolved by agreement or require a trial, the assistance of an experienced family law attorney is crucial.
At Macksoud Macksoud & Davis, LLP in Torrance, we handle sensitive child custody matters for clients throughout Southern California. Our attorneys are committed to protecting our clients’ parental rights and the best interests of their children.
Handling All Types Of Custody Issues
Parties involved in a custody dispute in Southern California will find experienced and dedicated legal representation at our law firm. Our attorneys have extensive experience in child custody and visitation disputes, including:
- Divorce and paternity with contested child custody
- Post-judgment child custody modification proceedings
- Disputes arising from a relocation
- Visitation disputes during and after a divorce or paternity proceeding
- Paternity actions
- Grandparent and third-party visitation issues
- Restraining order proceedings that may affect child custody and visitation
If you need to speak with an attorney about a child custody dispute, we encourage you to contact our law office in Torrance, California.
Resolving Complex Custody Disputes
Child custody battles may take several paths. In a surprising number of cases, allegations of physical or sexual abuse are made. In some of these cases, the allegations are true and in others, they are fabrications designed to get an upper hand in a custody battle.
When these and other complex issues arise during divorce, paternity or post-judgment modification proceedings, it is essential to have experienced legal representation. Clients who retain our firm can be confident that their cases will be handled with the highest degree of competence and care. Our attorneys are true trial lawyers who are not afraid to take a case to trial when necessary to protect a client’s rights and interests. We have handled thousands of family law cases, including hundreds of divorce and family law trials.
Legal Custody And Physical Custody: What’s The Difference
Parents new to this process often use the two terms interchangeably, but they describe different things and the distinction matters for how your case gets structured.
Legal custody is about who makes the major decisions in a child’s life: where they go to school, what medical treatment they receive, how they’re raised and what religion, if any, they’re brought up in. Physical custody is about where the child actually lives and who handles the day-to-day.
California courts award joint legal custody in most cases, even when one parent has primary physical custody. That means both parents share responsibility for those big decisions regardless of how the child’s time is divided between homes. Physical custody arrangements vary much more widely depending on each family’s circumstances, work schedules, the child’s age and what may be decided to genuinely fit the child’s life.
What “Best Interests Of The Child” Actually Means
In California, this is the standard every custody case runs on, but courts don’t leave it vague. When a Long Beach judge evaluates a custody arrangement, there’s a concrete list of things they’re required to look at.
A child’s physical wellbeing, safety and welfare come before everything else. The court then turns to each parent’s conduct, including any record of domestic violence or ongoing substance abuse, and how much time and involvement each parent has actually had with the child before the case began. A child’s connections to their neighborhood, their school and the people around them matter too, and so does whether each parent is genuinely willing to keep the other one present in the child’s life.
One thing that cannot enter the equation is a parent’s gender, gender identity or sexual orientation. California law is explicit that none of these can influence the outcome. What drives every decision is finding an arrangement that works for that child specifically, one that keeps them safe, gives them consistency and lets them maintain real relationships with both parents whenever that is realistic.
Does A Child Have A Say In Custody?
There is no age at which a child in California gets to simply decide. But a child’s preference does carry genuine weight once they’re old enough to form one of their own.
California law requires courts to consider a child’s custody and visitation wishes when the child is mature enough to reason through a real preference rather than just repeating what a parent has told them. At 14, a child has the right to address the court directly if they want to, and the judge must allow it unless there’s a documented finding that doing so would harm the child. Younger children can also be heard if the court decides their maturity makes it appropriate, though that’s left entirely to the judge’s discretion.
Either way, a child’s preference is one piece of the picture, not the deciding factor. Judges know children can be coached or put in the middle, and they weigh what a child says alongside everything else the case involves.
Talk With A Knowledgeable Lawyer About Your Custody Issues
You don’t have to face this sensitive issue alone. To discuss your child custody issues with an experienced lawyer, contact our law offices online or by telephone at 310-961-2989.