Choosing the Best Child Custody Lawyers
The best child custody lawyers…that's the crop of attorneys from whom you want to choose. But how do you know? Searching the internet will give you a bunch of lawyers you can call. Maybe you've gotten a referral or two from friends or family. When trying to find the best child custody lawyers, do you know what questions to ask? How to separate fact from fiction? This article was written to help you make a good decision and to come to one that is in your children's best interest.
The right kind of experience
Practicing law for many years is not the experience to which we refer. That is why we called it the "right" kind of experience. There are plenty of older child custody lawyers we have come across who are ineffective advocates. Age isn't the key. The type of experience the best child custody lawyers have is a knowledge of the law and facts and knowing how to use each within a child custody case.
No tolerance for abuse or false allegations of abuse
There are two types of cases that should receive little tolerance and need strong representation from beginning to end. The first are cases that involve child abuse. Parents who abuse their children (physically or emotionally) are rarely fit to have joint custody or enjoy equal parenting time. Since the children are the center of custody cases, the best lawyers know that children must be protected from such parents through appropriate court orders.
False allegations of child abuse are just as bad. Top lawyers aggressively defend false allegations and this often requires more than a "he said, she said" battle in court but discovery (deposition of the accusing spouse as one example), the gathering of witnesses and preparation for hearings. Parents who walk into child custody cases unprepared in false abuse allegation cases are playing with fire because cases of "he said, she said" can go either way.
Utilizing child custody evaluations
Child custody 730 evaluations can be a helpful tool in contentious child custody cases. Good attorneys use them in cases where the psychology of the parties and the reasons behind their actions need to be fleshed out to better understand what may be in the children's best interest. Most family courts have an approved list of child custody evaluators.
Managing attorney fees and costs
Child custody cases can get expensive and quality family law attorneys manage the fees and costs through an early and continuing dialogue with their clients. Our lawyers help our clients lay out goals, a plan and a budget and one that isn't static but is updated as the case evolves.
It's time to stop toiling and make a decision
Don't let paralysis set into your decision making process. You cannot effectively represent yourself in a difficult and contentious custody case and trying to find the cheapest lawyer generally gets you nowhere and possibly in a worst situation than where you started. We know finding the best child custody lawyer for your case is difficult but we are here to help. There are no guarantees in any case, but through good questions, honest answers and effective representation, you can give your child custody case a better chance of success.