Crofton Child Custody Attorneys

Caring Lawyers Providing Assistance With Child Custody Matters in Crofton, Maryland

Child custody and visitation arrangements are some of the most challenging decisions you must make during your divorce. Unwed parents who separate must make similar decisions. Your choices now will impact you and your children in multiple ways, and knowing what is best for them is sometimes difficult. You need a dedicated advocate to help you develop a customized plan that carefully considers all factors that could affect your children's best interests.

Unlike some attorneys, Law Office of Kari H. Fawcett does not use a cookie-cutter approach. Instead, we will help you develop a legal strategy that is unique to your family's situation. We will take more time getting to know you than most, with our thoroughness and attention to detail reflected in our legal counsel and advice in your child custody case. With more than 50 years of experience between our attorneys, you can trust us to protect your parental rights and your children's best interests. Request your free case evaluation today to see for yourself how our firm stands apart.

Your Family's Needs Are Unique

Drafting parenting plans and deciding on matters related to legal and physical custody is stressful enough without a lawyer trying to fit your situation into a generic, pre-defined structure. Law Office of Kari H. Fawcett will ask the right questions and actually listen to your answers, such as:

• How old are your children? If they are old enough, have they expressed wishes to stay with one parent or spend time with both parents?
• Do your children have a stronger attachment to one parent?
• Do your children have special needs? What are they, and how should we accommodate them?
• Do you or the other parent have physical, financial, or mental limitations we need to address?
• Are there reasons your children would not be safe or well cared for when spending time with the other parent?
• Is the other parent trying to restrict or damage your relationship with your children?
• Do you or the other parent have unusual work schedules?

Questions like these will lay the groundwork for your customized parenting plan, visitation schedule, and child custody arrangements.

Child Custody Issues in Crofton, Maryland

Maryland generally recognizes two kinds of child custody. Sole custody grants all rights and obligations to one parent, although the other might be allowed visitation. Shared or joint custody splits responsibilities and rights between parents.

Legal custody grants a parent the right to make serious decisions for their children about matters like healthcare, religion, and education. If one parent has sole legal custody, the other can still make minor decisions about their children's daily needs when they have physical custody. Physical custody means keeping the children under your care and supervision; plainly, which parent the children are with at a given time.

Some children of divorced parents spend an equal number of days and nights with each parent, often switching households mid-week or on weekends. Others live primarily in one residence, visiting the other parent periodically for a set number of days. Either of these plans may work well for your family, but these are not your only options. Law Office of Kari H. Fawcett can discuss the benefits and disadvantages of different options with you, and we will help you develop a plan that works best for you and your children.

If you and your spouse are unable to reach an agreement, the courts may step in. Court rulings focus on providing for the best interests of the children, and they may differ significantly from what you want. Your attorney will work with you to help find solutions you and your spouse can agree upon.

Call Our Crofton, MD Child Custody Lawyers

No two children are alike, and your child custody agreement needs to consider what is best for each of your children. Law Office of Kari H. Fawcett will support and guide you at every step. Contact us online or call 301-262-5500 to arrange for your complimentary consultation today.