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Family Law, Military Divorce, Professional License Defense In Carmel, Indiana

Parents Working Together Can Create Long-Term Parenting Plans

Are you getting divorced, but are not certain how child custody or parenting time agreements work? Are you looking to establish paternity of your child?

Ms. Marcus has over 20 years of experience working on child custody matters in Indiana and is passionate about helping families remain strong through well-built agreements for children. She uses negotiation and mediation to help parents reach an agreement to help their children successfully negotiate the divorce.

Call the firm in Carmel today at 317-578-2017 to schedule a consultation with an attorney to discuss your legal options and resolve matters such as child custody and support, relocations, modifications and enforcement of existing orders.

What If Parents Cannot Agree On Custody?

Custody is often confused with parenting time. Parenting time is what time each parent has with the children. Custody is the ability to make decisions regarding the child’s upbringing, including the child’s education, health care and religious training. The ability to make these decisions for the child may rest in one parent (sole custody) or both parents (joint custody). If parents are unable to agree on custody of their children, the court will decide for the family after considering the following factors:

  • Age and sex of the child
  • Wishes of the child’s parent or parents
  • Wishes of the child, with more consideration given to the child’s wishes if the child is at least 14 years old
  • Relationship of the child with their parents, siblings or another person
  • Child’s adjustment to home, school and community
  • Mental and physical health of everyone involved
  • Domestic violence
  • Substance abuse
  • Neglect
  • Existence of a de facto guardian (someone other than a parent who has cared for, nurtured and supported the child)

Ms. Marcus protects the rights of families when a child custody case must go to trial for a successful resolution. Custody hearings will result in a judge choosing who will make decisions regarding the child. In determining custody, the court will also consider the distance between the parents’ households, the parents’ ability to co-parent the child and who will have physical custody of the child. Physical custody is generally placed in one parent with the other parent having parenting time.

Parenting time plans are best created by the parents who understand the child’s needs and schedule. However, when the parents are unable to agree, the court will generally order that one parent have physical custody and the other parent have parenting time pursuant to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines. The guidelines are designed for parents who work 9-to-5 and have weekends and holidays off work. If you are one of the people whose schedule does not fit that narrow pattern, then parenting time needs to be worked around issues such as work hours, distance between residences, children’s school requirements, etc.

Once custody is established, the state provides guidelines for judges to calculate the amount of child support owed. Child support considerations include each parent’s income, health insurance costs, child care costs and the number of overnights each parent has the child.

Contact Marcus Law Firm, LLC, For Skillful Child Custody Advocacy

Call 317-578-2017 for a consultation if you need the help of a skillful lawyer to establish child custody, grandparent visitation, child support or other family law and divorce-related matters. You may also briefly describe your legal need using the online form.