Lake Charles Child Custody Lawyer

When parents are separating or divorcing, child custody cases are necessary to ensure the best interests of the child are being cared for. Custody cases are often emotional and complicated, even for parents who are working together with their children’s interests in mind. The support of a Lake Charles child custody lawyer is crucial to protect your family’s future. You need a compassionate, skilled, and dedicated legal team, such as the team at the Godley Law Firm.

Most child custody cases that I handle out of my southwest Louisiana law office are one extreme or the other. If an agreement can’t be resolved quickly and amicably, custody disputes become heated and end up needing resolution in family court. I recognize that emotions may run high, but parents must put aside their issues and focus on the best interests of their children. Whenever possible, child custody cases should stay out of the courtroom to create stress for children.

Work With A Dedicated and Empathetic Advocate

I am divorce lawyer William Godley at the Godley Law Firm. In addition to being a practicing lawyer and former musician, I am also a child of divorce and have endured the process of marital dissolution myself. From those perspectives, I can help you find the most favorable resolution while looking out for the best interests of your children. Many cases are handled and resolved through mediation. That more peaceful process can be less expensive than an attorney.

I get involved if mediation has not resulted in a memorandum of understanding. I will try to negotiate with the opposing side. This step is important to finding a more amicable solution for your custody arrangement. However, if the other party is being unreasonable in their demands and unwilling to be flexible, I will not hesitate to go to court. While a heated battle is not preferred, protecting the rights and interests of your children comes first.

The Godley Law Firm has years of experience helping families navigate child custody cases, from straightforward negotiations to complex court cases. We understand when compassionate mediation is needed and when an aggressive tactic is required to protect your children from an unsafe living environment.

I Understand What You’re Going Through

I can relate to what you and your children are going through during life-changing and emotionally charged times. Uncertainty of the future occupies your every thought. My job is to pursue the most favorable outcome through negotiation or litigation, allowing you to move on to the next chapter of your life.

Get the Answers to Your Child Custody Questions

You have many concerns when child custody becomes a central part of your divorce. The questions you have matter, and I want to help you find the relevant answers to your issues. Here are the most common questions clients come to me regarding their children’s living situation.

How Is Child Custody Decided?

Ideally, all parties come into divorce and agree on how the child custody situation will come together. Joint custody is a preferred option as it allows both parties a say in their children’s life, health, and education.

If child custody is in dispute, the court will step in and create a parenting plan. They will look to the child’s best interests to determine this plan, and those best interests include:

• The child’s physical and mental health
• The care and emotional ties between the child and their parents
• The conditions of the available homes
• The educational opportunities
• The relative safety of the child, including the potential for the child to be abused
• The mental and physical health of each parent
• Each parent’s ability to provide care, guidance, education, and affection
• Each parent’s ability to provide for the basic material needs of the child
• The moral fitness of each parent if it impacts the child’s well-being
• The willingness of each parent to encourage the child’s relationship with the other parent

There are many other factors that judges look at, but those are the most important. When parents create a custody arrangement and parenting plan outside of court, it is beneficial for both parents and their children. You understand your family’s needs the most.

However, even when parents create this plan together, the court will still have to approve the arrangement. If the court determines that the arrangement is detrimental to the child, parents may be requested to create another plan, or the court will make their own.

Types of Custody

The two main types of custody to consider are legal custody and physical custody.

Legal custody is the ability of a parent to make decisions for their child, including the child’s religious upbringing, where they go to school, where and how they receive healthcare and other legal and personal choices. Sole legal custody is when only one parent is given these rights and responsibilities.

Joint legal custody is much more common but also more complicated. Both parents have a say in important decisions about their child, and must decide in advance how to approach those decisions and how to discuss decisions in the future.

Physical custody is where the child primarily resides. Sole physical custody often means that the other parent has significant visitation rights. It can also mean that the other parent does not have custody or visitation rights in rare cases. Joint physical custody means that a child spends near-equal time with both parents.

Will I Get Sole Custody?

It is possible to get sole physical and legal custody of the child. However, you generally need either your ex’s agreement or evidence of neglect or danger to the child. With that in hand, you can much more easily pursue sole custody.

Having a skilled child custody attorney could improve the likelihood of securing sole custody. If a child is in danger, an attorney can look for proof and present this to the court. An attorney can also review your family’s situation and determine other likely options for custody arrangements.

Are Grandparents Eligible for Visitation Rights?

Grandparents, by law in Louisiana, have some rights to pursue visitation. However, those rights are limited. Generally speaking, these visitation rights are only available if the grandparent’s child passes or goes to prison. In these instances, they can pursue “reasonable” visitation in court. These rights are also extended to adult siblings of a child whose parent has died or gone to prison.

Does My Child Have Any Say?

Yes, your child can state a preference for where they wish to live once they turn 11. However, the court takes a more expansive view of the topic than just the child’s wishes and may not necessarily agree with them. In some cases, the best interests of a child can overrule that child’s wishes.

How Does a Child Custody Attorney Help?

Support from a skilled and compassionate child custody attorney is beneficial no matter your custody situation. Even when discussions seem amicable and straightforward, an attorney can help ensure a potential parenting arrangement is fair and in the child’s interests. This makes the agreement more likely to be accepted by the court.

If you and your co-parent come to a challenge, your attorney could provide creative solutions. Child custody lawyers have years of experience in many unique custody cases and can use this knowledge to help you consider alternative options. An attorney is also helpful because even negotiations that seem agreeable can sometimes become contentious or emotional anyway.

An attorney can help you and your co-parent stay on-topic, focus on your children’s interests, and take a step back when needed. If your relationship with your co-parent is already contentious or even unsafe, an attorney is even more important. They can protect your rights and help you determine if taking a custody case to trial is better to protect yourself and your children.

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Get Experienced Legal Help Navigating Custody Issues

Let me help you navigate the high-stakes custody issues you are facing. I am dedicated to serving you and your children with experienced legal guidance each step of the way.

To learn more, please reach out online or call my office in Lake Charles, Louisiana, at 337-502-5144.