Custody Fights

Custody Fights

Custody fights are often waged when parents
cannot agree on the terms of child custody or
visitation. These battles are not as common as
custody agreements, which settle cases short of
going to court, fortunately. In most cases parents
are able to settle discrepancies in child custody
provisions without calling a single witness to
testfy in a custody matter. Courtroom disputes
can also be resolved through the family law court
system after all other methods of reaching an
agreement have been exhausted.

When parents fight out differences in court, the
issues often turns on legal custody of children
and/or physical custody of children or a single
child. Legal custody involves one parent's right to
make major decisions in the child's life and
wellbeing, such as matters involving education,
health and dental care, extracurricular activities,
religious observances, emergency care, and the
like.

Physical custody, on the other hand, involves the
parents right to spend time with a child. Physical
custody is often measured in the number of over
nights. Physical custody agreemeents determine
with whom the child will live, where the child will
spend weekdays, weekends, holidays, and
overnights. With physical custody comes certain
duties: Who will pick the child up from school?
Who will do the driving and picking up for each
transfer, and so on.

While agreements are preferred, custody battles
can be unavoidable if, for example, mediation
fails. Custody mediation involves the help of a
neutral court appointed or privately hired third
party who is trained to help parents agree on the
terms of child custody. These mediators are
professions who can help work through the
details and prevent the parties from wasting
time, money (and the judge's time) in court.

Unfortunatley, some custody cases can only be
resolved through the courts of common pleas in
Pennsylvania. Custody trials can be extremely
draining and take an exceptional toll on all
parties concerned, including the children. Thus,
you should evaluate your long terms goals and
the big picture before engating in a protracted
custody battle. If you find that a custory trial is
your only option, then you should seek
experienced counsel who will present your case
in the most efficient way possible to protect your
rights as well as the interests of your child and/or
children. Call our Pittsburgh custody lawyers
today for a free consultation!