Thoughtful, Trustworthy Counsel in Child Custody Disputes
"Our lives are the sum total of the choices we have made." —Wayne Dyer
During a divorce or custody case, few decisions are more important to family law clients than restructuring the care of their children. The choices that are made are a balance between predictability so that parents and children can make plans and feel secure in their parent-child relationships and the need to stay open to the changing needs of growing children and each of their families.
Minnesota courts favor parents reaching agreements regarding their children in mediation, early neutral evaluation and other out-of-court facilitative process options. When parents cannot agree, they can ask the Court to make decisions regarding their children and also have the option of working with an arbitrator, Parenting Consultant or Parenting Time Expediter in an out-of-court process that can generate decisions.
Regardless how your custody and parenting time case is resolved, the devil is in the details:
- how many details do you need in your Decree or Order (is "reasonable" workable or do you need "from 4:30 pm to 8 pm")
- on what issues (is "physical and legal custody" enough or do you need to also say "the children will attend Hometown School District schools")
- should the issues also include the future parenting relationship (is "as is mutually agreeable" realistic or do you need "if the parties cannot agree, they will work with a Parenting Time Expediter")
Modern custody agreements, even if using traditional statutory terms for legal and physical custody, often are multi-page documents. The more both parents have a common understanding of what and how things are supposed to work for the children, the easier it is for both of them to act accordingly.
My experience as a litigator, a former guardian ad litem for children, a family law neutral and my own parenting experiences are all available to you as I work with you as either an advocate or, alternatively, as a neutral, to resolve your custody and parenting time issues.
"You included and improved vastly the detail we offered the judge so that we have some parameters to help us function". Custody Client
I am Deborah N. Dewalt, a Dakota County child custody attorney and family law neutral who is committed to helping Minnesota families make thoughtful decisions taking into account many factors which are important to children and parents for their futures. Whether you are a mother or father seeking primary custody, a grandparent seeking visitation rights or a third party who has related concerns, my law firm can assist.
Focusing On the Best Interests of You and Your Child
When I discuss child custody and parenting time (visitation) issues with my clients, I start by asking you to tell me about your children, their relationships with you, and your desires and concerns for their future. Some of the questions I ask include:
- What are your kids like?
- What kinds of activities do you currently participate in with your kids?
- What kinds of activities do you want to do with them in the future?
- What parenting arrangements do you need in the future to support your parent-child relationships?
In every divorce and custody case, I strive to help clients keep their children's best interests in mind, to make the transition as smooth as possible for the children, and to preserve an effective working relationship with the other parent.
Talk to a Caring Lawyer About Burnsville Child Visitation Agreements and More
To arrange a no-cost, no-obligation initial consultation with me, Deborah N. Dewalt, Attorney at Law, Family Law Neutral, call my Burnsville office at 952-641-7455 or toll free at 866-919-7417 or fill out the online contact form.
