Your Child Custody Options

Part of our wise counsel to you on the child custody front is the variety of custody options available to you, both individually and as a couple. Your options are generalized to the following options:

• physical custody (actual care and control of a minor child)
• legal child custody (the right to make decisions that impact the child)
• partial/shared physical custody (both parent care for the child)
• visitation (one parent cares for the child while the other is allowed scheduled visits)
• sole custody (one parent enjoys the bulk of essential choices).

In our offices in Columbia, Maryland, our experienced attorneys can help you pursue full or partial access to your children in a diplomatic, cost-efficient way, while actively speaking for your rights at every step. We do this with your legal claims, emotional state, and scheduling obligations at the forefront of our minds.

The collaborative law process was initially devised for parents but ultimately benefits the children too. By persuading parties on both sides to emphasize the entire family’s interests rather than staking out polarizing positions, you have a far better chance of emerging with the best child custody plan.

Visitation

At our Collaborative Law Group offices in Columbia, Maryland, we feel that just as it “takes two” to make a marriage, it also takes two to make a post-marriage relationship that will lessen a divorce’s potentially painful impact on a child.

We will ensure you know all Maryland visitation rights so we can facilitate an mutually acceptable visitation agreement as we have for our Maryland clients for over 50 years. Our goal is to have open discussions between the parties occur in a calm atmosphere of mutual respect and consideration.

The collaborative law process used by our experienced, sensitive lawyers will consider factors like the child’s age, scheduling of alternating evening and weekend visits, and access to the child for special events and family occasions. Through mediation, we can assist you in coming up with the best visitation and parenting plan. Ultimately, our goal is to protect your rights and interests, operate in good faith with your spouse’s representation, stress the parties’ mutual interests, and work for the best interests of all children involved.

Child Support

The Collaborative Law Group weighs several Maryland child support factors that family courts may need more time or inclination to explore; we take into account variables such as:

• the children’s ages
• their parents’ financial status
• any special needs required by a child 
• standards of living
• time currently spend with the child
• career details/long-range professional outlooks

to create a workable and optimal child support structure that assures your children the financial resources they need all the way to their college years. 

As a team, we can move toward a child support plan that is fair, functional, and in compliance with Maryland law. We do not want an agreement in which one party commits to performing something they cannot deliver to please the other party.

If your lifestyle changes, for better or worse, we can also help you work out the modifications to your child support agreement.

Your Free Initial ½-Hour Consultation

Our free initial ½-hour telephone consultation is thorough and educational. Our experienced and skilled divorce attorneys want you to know all the advantages of our collaborative law approach instead of courtroom litigation. “We’ll lend you an ear and give you a voice.”

Contact our Collaborative Law Group Maryland law offices today. You do not have to be in pain and turmoil any longer. And your children will thank you later for allowing us to help you talk it out and resolve your differences.