Child Custody – St Louis, MO

Need to protect your child custody rights?

A St Louis, MO divorce lawyer may be able to protect your parental rights and help you with child custody disputes. Divorce is always a hard situation for not only husbands and wives, but for the children as well. Child custody describes the relationship between parent and child. Parents who obtain custody reserve the right to make decisions involving his or her child and the duty of caring for the child. In most jurisdictions in St Louis, the court’s ruling favors the best interest of the child.

Children’s rights are upheld in the court system in St Louis. These rights include the right to a continuing relationship with each parent and the right to freely express their feelings toward each parent. There may be certain circumstances where a parent’s contact is limited or supervised.

What are the different types of custody?

  • Temporary Custody-Usually temporary custody is at the discretion of the parents. Generally divorce counseling is a good idea to guarantee that the child is not used as a manipulative factor or in any other inappropriate way.
  • Legal Custody- Sole Legal Custody means only one parent is responsible for the child’s legal rights regarding welfare, education, health care, and religion.
  • Joint Legal Custody means both parents reserve the right to make legal decisions. The most common form of Joint Custody allocates primary custody with one parent according to residency.
  • Physical Custody- defines the child(ren)’s residency. Sole Physical Custody involves the child(ren) live with one parent and the other is entitled to visitations. Joint Physical Custody is when the child(ren) live with each parents for a certain amount of time over the course of each year. This agreement doesn’t have to be split evenly but should have some consistency. Joint physical custody is rarely considered best for the child.

Custody may be changed in St Louis if there is a major change that affects the child. Major changes might include a work schedule change for one or both of the parents, or a change in location that may take the child far away from the non custodial parent. Child custody can often be a hotly debated and argued point of contention in divorce proceedings. In order to get a better understanding of your custody options contact a St Louis family attorney.

 If you are searching for effective solutions don’t delay.  Protect your rights! Contact a Divorce attorney directly by calling 800.783.1877 or complete the form on this website for a FREE consultation with a St Louis, MO child custody lawyer near you who may be able to help you stand up for yourself and protect your rights.