Child Custody and Visitation can be handled in different ways.
The way we resolve this matter is by having a parenting plan that works for both parents.
There are consequences to you and your children if a parenting plan does not work for the other parent. Generally, parents going through divorce are dealing with resentment, and many times anger. We do not want the exchanges of the children to further aggravate you or the other parent causing further disputes between the two of you at the time of exchanges.
As you can imagine, the children already have to deal with the huge upset of not living with both parents and the issues related to their parents divorcing. Most, if not all of them, blame themselves for the divorce. Growing up has its own many challenges. If you love your children, you will want to make this transition as easy as possible with a lot of love, compassion and understanding.
Therefore, it makes sense to have a meeting to understand both parents' schedules and needs and wants to assist you - with the help of parenting experts - to plan a parenting plan that you both worked on together and which is not forced on either one of you.
The other way which is common is through the court system, which puts the parents against each other with respect to custody and visitation. Judges do not like to make this difficult decision on their own and may assign a custody evaluator to assess both parents and make a report to the judge. If you have a zealous attorney, you will probably do your own independent custody evaluation as well, which altogether with attorney fees can cost any way from $15,000 to over $50,000 and many times in the hundreds of thousands just for the custody and visitation issue. At the end of it, even if you "win" that battle, you still have to deal with your co-parent in implementing the Court order for custody and visitation. No one likes to be ordered and, therefore, if they don't like the order, this issue really has not been resolved.
During your first consultation, we will consider all the factors and issues related to your marriage and the children, and plan the process that makes the most sense for your family.