Loyens Law Professional Corporation will work to defend your rights as a father. We’ve outlined the types of child custody you may encounter on this page and we are here to provide legal guidance for any of these situations.
Child Custody
Child Custody is the legal right to have a say in the upbringing of your child(ren). Access, on the other hand, is the right to see your child(ren).
There are generally four types of child custody:
Sole Custody
The parent who has sole custody has the exclusive right to make decisions regarding the children's education, health, religion and to some extent where the children reside, without any input from the other parent. Custody does not necessarily determine the amount of time the children spend in a parent's care although a parent with sole custody tends to have the children most of the time.Joint Custody
Both parents make decisions together regarding the major issues affecting the children, such as education, health, religion, and where the children reside. Some degree of cooperation between the parents with respect to raising the children is required.Shared Custody
This commonly refers to a living arrangement whereby the children spend roughly equal time residing with each parent, with each parent spending at least 40% of the time with the children. For example, the children might live with the Father one week and with the Mother the following week and rotate accordingly. Generally with shared custody arrangements the parents will make major decisions together regarding the children as in joint custody.Split Custody
This refers to a situation where there are two or more children and at least one child resides primarily with each parent. For example, a couple has two sons. One son resides primarily with the father and the other son resides primarily with the mother.
Child Access
Child Access is the right to see your child(ren). Generally the non-custodial parent is entitled access to the children. If the other parent has sole custody however, the access parent is not entitled to participate in custodial decision making on matters such as education, health, religion and where the children reside.
Supervised Access
This is imposed by a judge if there are allegations of abuse, addiction, mental health issues, a risk that one parent will flee with the child or cause harm to the child or if the parent has not seen the child for an extended period of time. Supervised Access typically occurs at a government-operated access centre.
Parental Alienation
Generally this is an ugly by-product of high-conflict divorce in which one parent, usually the custodial parent, turns the children against their ex-spouse or partner in an orchestrated campaign of hatred. Alienation at an advanced stage is difficult to undo. It is also difficult to prove. Action should be taken early. In some cases of alienation judges have been willing to “switch custody” and give sole custody of the children to the alienated parent. Such drastic measures must, however, be in the best interests of the children.
If you are looking for a child custody and access lawyer contact the firm experienced in protecting the rights of fathers. Schedule your consultation with Loyens Law Professional Corporation today.
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