Child Custody Lawyers in Calgary, AB, Delicately Representing You During Tough Times

No matter which way you cut it, divorce can complicate a child’s life. Children live with a confident expectation of normalcy and routine. Often transitioning from the care of one to the other parent can be a complex parenting arrangement for children to grow accustomed to. Many child custody lawyers who have seen this in their experience in family law will agree that it does not fit a child’s best interests.

However, most parents do want what’s in their child’s best interests. And to achieve that, a child custody lawyer will do what they can to ensure parenting arrangements through Alberta courts to ensure the children live a happy life, with equal parenting time from both parents in a shared custody arrangement.

What Factors Can Keep a Family Law Case From Granting 50% Child Access to Both Parents?

If a parent seeks child custody in total, called “sole custody,” there is often a reason to do so. It can often be challenging to convince a court of people that limiting parenting time from either parent is in the child’s best interests. For that reason, parents turn to the help of experienced child custody lawyers.

If one parent proves in family court that the child may risk any of the following with the other parent:

personal injury
exposure to drugs or alcohol
prolonged separation from one parent, against the separation agreement
a danger to their psychological safety
stunted emotional development
lack of essential health and medical support

Then not only may that parent be given sole custody access to the child, but the accused parent may be denied access to the child altogether. Psychologists would suggest that access to both parents is in the best interests of the child, but at the point when one guardian becomes a danger to the children involved, the courts have to step in and revoke the accused parent’s guardianship.

What Does It Mean to Be Granted Custody of a Child?

There are four types of custody:

Physical custody
Legal custody
Sole custody
Joint custody

A court’s goal when determining custody access for parties involved in the child custody agreement is to grant the combination of custody that acts in the best interests of the children in the case. It is the goal of both child custody lawyers acting as each parent’s representation to grant an agreement in the child’s interest but through the lens of their client.

Physical vs. Legal Custody

What is Physical Custody?

Physical custody determines which parent the child will reside with, who will provide day-to-day care, and which parent or guardian’s house the child will call home.

In the case of granting sole physical custody, the court may consider several factors while choosing which parent to grant custody:

Age of the child; whether a child is old enough to make their own decisions
Relationship between a child and each parent
Where will the child be going to school
The location of a child’s siblings
The mental and physical well-being of the parents
Parent’s caretaking capabilities
Which parent can provide the most stable environment for children
Distance between homes
Living accommodations, including if a parent is living in the home where the parents raised the child while they were together
Many other factors

What is Legal Custody?

The principal decision-maker of the child holds legal custody of the child. Often, that will also be the physical custodian of the child, but that is not always the case.

If the court decides to grant sole legal custody to one parent, it will be based on a combination of the below factors:

A parent’s criminal, stability, or drug-/alcohol-abuse history
History of abuse toward the child or other parent
Amount of time the parent can reasonably attend to the children
The child’s religious upbringing
Ability to communicate with another parent on child-related issues
How willing each parent is to facilitate a relationship with the other parent while honoring separation agreements
Child’s mental/physical health
Which parent shows the most interest in resolving conflicts in the child’s best interests
Several other factors

Sole vs. Joint custody

In a joint custody agreement, the family lawyers representing each family have agreed to have the parents split time with the child 50/50 (or as close as possible). Built into those agreements, each child custody lawyer will have put in provisos to settle any future contractual dispute, not to make this sound like business law– so that if the contract of custody access is broken in any way, there is legal precedent.

Suppose a parent or guardian is granted “sole” legal or physical custody. In that case, it means they reside primarily or permanently with a single parent or guardian from the original relationship.

What Are The Advantages and Disadvantages of Joint Child Custody?

Courts strive to establish a joint custody agreement where both parents see the child roughly 50% of the time. Supposing this is still within the child’s best interest (meaning it does not put them in harm’s way, etc.), this agreement has obvious advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

a child receives the love, care, and influence of both parents
both parents have equal input in the child’s major life decisions
both parents provide a meaningful relationship to allow for a more well-rounded experience as the child grows older
a joint custody situation may reduce friction between divorced parents as they work together to co-parent
the more people who can help raise a child, the better typically. Raising a child is an unduly difficult task

Disadvantages

children can find constant movement between housing situations, stressful
children have to adjust to lifestyle swings
small children are resistant to routine changes
while some co-parenting relationships can smoothen divorces, the situation can also cause fights
a child can feel pulled between two adults who care deeply for them or feel they need to pick a side
a child can feel like a middle-man or go-between if there is a communication breakdown
if communication is bad, and the parents are fighting or unable to express themselves to one another, a child’s individual needs may go unnoticed by the unhappy adults
a child may feel pressured to keep their own needs quiet so as not to risk upsetting parents during their moments of stability

Who Do I Turn to For Help With Custody?

While there are several resources to help in custody situations, a child custody lawyer can prove invaluable to helping your divorce, post-nuptial agreements, and child custody arrangements to go as smoothly as possible. Get in touch with an experienced family lawyer at Getz Collins and Associates today. Schedule your initial consultation by calling (587) 849-4470 today.