Oceanside Child Custody & Support Lawyer

Divorce is different for parents. Although a childless couple might divorce easily with few disagreements, more is at stake when a couple shares children. Ensuring you remain a part of your child’s life after divorce is a complicated endeavor, especially if you and the other parent do not see eye to eye on custody.

Contact Griffith Young today to speak with an Oceanside child custody & support lawyer. Our Certified Family Law Specialists understand how San Diego judges analyze custody and support issues. The law is complicated. Although the courts are focused on ensuring your child’s welfare and safety, a perfect 50% custody split is sometimes not possible. Ensure your right to access to your children is protected by reaching out to our firm to schedule a consultation.

What is Child Custody?

California recognizes two types of custody:

1.       Legal custody. This is also known as decision-making power. Because your children are minors, they need a parent to grant permission for medical treatment or extracurricular activities, as well as to enroll them in school. A parent with legal custody has a say in these critical issues. Typically, a judge grants joint legal custody unless there is a strong reason not to.

2.       Physical custody. A parent who has physical possession of their child has physical custody. As with legal custody, physical custody can be joint, but parents need to drill down and identify how they will divide the child’s time. Often, one parent is made the primary custodian, and the other has ample time with the children.  California law is oriented to ensure both parents have continuing, meaningful contact with their children unless there is a weighty reason to the contrary.

Negotiating Custody Between Parents

Not every custody case is a “fight.” Instead, parents can work together to devise a custody arrangement. Often, the hardest issue is deciding where the children will be physically present throughout the year. If parents live nearby, then children might shuttle between houses every few days or every other week.

Situations where one parent has moved away or intends to relocate present more complicated cases. School-age children need to attend one school, which means they cannot so easily go back and forth between households. Parents sometimes disagree on where the child will live during the school year.

Call Griffith Young. We can help negotiate with the other parent’s legal counsel. We can also attend mediation to go over the dispute. Where successful, parents can draft a custody agreement and submit it to the judge.

Coming Up with a Plan

Even parents with the best of intentions can get hung up on drafting a child custody arrangement. Here are some important elements:

• Schedule. Map out where your child will be throughout the year. Sometimes a child spends only weekends with one parent and then a big block of time during summer vacation. A sticking point is often the inability to divide physical custody 50/50 due to relocation or work schedules.
• Holidays and vacations. Don’t neglect holidays and school breaks. Spell out where the children will be during these holidays, and don’t forget special days like your birthday or a step-sibling’s birthday.
• Make up time with the children. Include a section on what happens if the child is sick and can’t visit the other parent. Do they get makeup time? How is it determined?
• Hand-offs. Include a detailed discussion of the logistics of dropping off or picking up your child. Often, parents benefit from a consistent hand-off location and set time.

Is a Custody Fight Inevitable?

No. But not all parents can reach an agreement, even after multiple rounds of mediation. Some reasons for disagreement include domestic violence or other threats to your child’s safety. And relocation or physical distance is often a barrier for parents. If one parent wants to move back to Michigan to be with her family, the other parent might strongly object to her leaving with the children.

Work with a seasoned Oceanside child custody lawyer at Griffith Young. We can walk you through the different steps in a contested custody case. You might undergo a custody evaluation from a trained psychologist or psychiatrist. Invasive questions often revolve around substance abuse or mental health problems, which are relevant for determining the child’s best interest.

Our firm can prepare you for any evaluation, as well as for mediation. The mediator makes a recommendation to the judge in your case, which is why it is critical to be prepared.

The “Best Interest” Standard

It is helpful to know how judges decide custody. They use the best interest standard. This is a holistic review that considers what custody arrangement would further your child’s welfare and safety:

• Each parent’s relationship with the child up to that point.
• Any domestic violence committed by either parent.
• A parent’s drug or alcohol addiction.
• The capacity of each parent to provide a stable, loving home.

In short, judges will consider any factor that seems relevant; however, they cannot give any weight to a parent’s gender, sexual orientation, or other prohibited characteristic.

Modification & Enforcement of Child Custody

Once a court sets the child custody schedule, they are never eager to quickly revisit it. Instead, a parent can seek modification only if there has been a substantial change of circumstances. Of course, life doesn’t stand still, and the courts know this. Parents have a realistic chance of showing a substantial change in certain situations:

• Your schedule makes it hard to see your child;
• Your child is older and their schedule has changed;
• A parent has moved;
• Medical conditions affect your ability to follow the custody schedule.

We can also seek a modification if your child is endangered or being neglected. For example, your ex might have brought a criminal or drug addict into the home as a romantic partner, or your ex has neglected the children and caused injury.

Child custody enforcement is necessary when a parent prevents you from seeing your children according to the schedule. We can seek to hold the other parent in contempt or even ask for a modification of child custody.

Determining Child Support Obligations

Parents must financially support their children, even if they are not the primary custodian. In California, the amount a parent will pay depends on various factors, such as each parent’s gross income and the timeshare percentage. The state has adopted guidelines to standardize the calculation.

For example, one parent might have a higher income but see their children only 40% of the time. This parent will likely end up paying child support to the other parent each month. The amount depends on the specific gross income, as well as different add-ons for things like medical treatment or educational expenses.

Child support is also possible even if parents have joint custody, which is split 50/50. When one parent has a significantly larger income, they usually pay child support.

Child Support Enforcement or Modification

Life intervenes, and some parents can no longer keep up with child support obligations. However, you must continue to pay until the order is modified. Contact Griffith Young quickly because unpaid child support will pile up and accrue interest. You cannot eliminate this obligation in bankruptcy.

The parent who pays support can seek modification for a significant change, such as:

• Reduced hours
• Job loss
• Business closure
• Physical or mental disability
• Workplace accident

In other situations, you can request a modification if the timeshare percentage has changed significantly.

We can help any parent seeking enforcement. The state has enormous powers to coerce a parent into paying, including wage garnishment, interception of tax returns, property liens, and bank levies.

Child custody & support FAQs

Can a parent agree to waive child support?

No. Judges will not consider a waiver of child support effective, even if part of a prenuptial agreement. The court retains jurisdiction over issues involving children, including custody and child support, using the best interest standard. One parent can agree to pay more support, above and beyond what is required by law.

Will I lose custody if I have a criminal conviction?

We want to know more about your history. If you committed a minor crime 20 years ago, then that is different than if you are currently facing felony charges. Let’s discuss how to show a judge you are rehabilitated or working to get your life in order.

What can I do if my ex is alienating the children from me?

This is usually a relevant factor in a child custody analysis. Alienation consists of one parent bad-mouthing the other or lying about them to the children. We can bring alienation to a judge’s attention. It might impact the initial custody award or even support modification.

Does my child get to pick who to live with?

California law protects a child’s right to express a preference when they reach 14. But even at this age, a child does not have a unilateral right to decide which parent will have custody. The weight your child’s preference carries will depend on age and maturity.

Contact Our Legal Team

Divorce is stressful on everyone—parents as well as children. If you are considering divorce, or if you’re in the middle of proceedings, call our office at 858-345-1720. You should have an experienced Oceanside child custody and support lawyer in your corner.