Advocacy in Parenting Arrangements
Child Custody Determination and Post-Divorce Modifications
If you are getting divorced, the impact on your children is probably uppermost in your mind. Who gets primary custody? What will the visitation arrangements be? How will the kids be affected by the process?
At Becker Law Offices, we aim for out-of-court custody agreements that minimize the impact on children of divorce and preserve a healthy ongoing relationship between the parents. Memphis, Tennessee family law attorney Misty Becker helps negotiate a workable parenting plan or represents your interests in contested proceedings.
Call 901.201.4424 for a consultation to discuss divorce, custody and visitation or modifications to your existing parenting arrangement. Ms. Becker represents mothers or fathers in the Memphis Metro area and across Shelby County.
Custody Disputes and Parenting Plans
The best scenario is a parenting plan negotiated without court intervention. A mutual agreement that looks toward the future is less expensive, less stressful for you and the kids and less likely to cause friction or litigation later. Misty Becker can advise on how a court would likely rule — the parent who has provided care usually is named the primary residential parent regardless of earning capacity — and work from that assumption toward a reasonable agreement.
Parenting plans can be built around a standard visitation schedule (alternate weekends, one overnight a week, extra time on holidays and summer vacation). Increasingly, Ms. Becker negotiates customized agreements for clients with non-standard work schedules (doctors and nurses, police officers, airline pilots). She also can help barter a shared custody plan that splits parenting time approximately equally.
The alternative is to let the court determine the outcome. Custody litigation is the greatest cost in any divorce, with a guardian appointed for the child and battling experts to testify who is more fit for primary custody. Litigation also poisons the co-parenting relationship and pulls children into the middle. But Misty Becker realizes that a custody battle is sometimes unavoidable — she is prepared to fight for you and the best interests of your child.
Custody Modifications
The court will alter custody if there is a substantial change in the child's circumstances — abuse, problems at school, behavioral problems or a detrimental home environment. The court will investigate and may award sole custody or primary custody to the other parent.
Relocating out of Tennessee with the children also requires court permission. The court considers, among other things, the amount of parenting time, the child's ties to the present area and the reasons for the move. Is the custodial parent relocating for vindictiveness or other selfish reasons? Or has the parent found a better job, a better school for the child or is remarrying? You need a strong and experienced advocate for any contested custody proceedings.
Contact Misty Becker today for a confidential consultation about divorce and child custody.
