Orange County Child Custody Attorney

Helping You Protect Your Child

At Alternative Divorce Solutions, our Orange County child custody lawyers are committed to helping parents find the best path forward in custody cases for themselves and their children.

Understanding Custody in California

In California, there are two types of custody:

1. Physical custody, which governs a parent’s rights to house their child; and
2. Legal custody, which governs a parent’s right to make decisions concerning their child such as where they go to school, what extracurricular activities they engage in, the kind of medical and dental care they receive, etc.

• In a joint custody arrangement, both parents have physical and/or legal custody of their child, though not necessarily in equal amounts. Courts tend to prefer joint custody arrangements under the assumption that it’s beneficial for a child to spend time with both parents.

• In a sole custody arrangement, only one parent has physical and/or legal custody of their child. In situations where one parent is unfit to act as a parent (often due to behavior such as substance abuse or family violence), the other parent may receive sole custody rights.

Custody arrangements also include a visitation plan detailing how parents intend to split time with their child. Most parents use one of the following visitation arrangements:

• Scheduled visitation. In a scheduled visitation arrangement, the parties have a set schedule for when they switch off custody.

• Reasonable visitation. In a reasonable visitation arrangement, the parties can switch off custody at any time as long as it’s under reasonable conditions.

• Supervised visitation. If a parent could represent a danger to the child, their visitation time may be supervised by a third party.

• No visitation. In some circumstances, a parent may be deemed emotionally or physically harmful and have their visitation rights revoked.

The Custody Mediation Process in California

Numerous questions must be answered, and a Child Custody Recommending Counselor (a mediator, essentially) will help you work through them all in the most efficient and beneficial way. This mediator will then help you build a plan that is uniquely qualified to serve your particular family needs. The mediation process is designed with three distinct goals in mind:

• To create a customized parenting plan that is in the best interest of the children involved;
• To create a parenting plan that allows children to spend time with both parents;
• To help parents deal with and overcome any feelings of anger or resentment.

What Not to Say in Child Custody Mediation

When engaging in a child custody mediation session, there are several suggestions to consider to avoid saying anything offensive to the other party:

• The length of the marriage or domestic partnership;
• The quality of life established for each party during that time;
• The age and health of both parties;
• The property each party possesses;
• The roles each party played during their relationship;
• Whether any other factors (such as a child custody or support order) are involved in the case;
• Whether either spouse contributed to the other’s education or career;
• How spousal support would impact the payor’s finances;
• How spousal support would impact taxes for each party.

Experienced Child Custody Mediators in CA

At Alternative Divorce Solutions, our Orange County child custody attorneys help clients find the best path forward in custody disputes. We’ll work with you to pursue an outcome that enables your child to thrive.