Child Custody in Uncontested Divorce Cases
Uncontested divorces are quicker to settle and do not come with the stress and cost associated with a contested divorce. Uncontested divorces are ideal for spouses who do not have bitter battles to fight and settle in the court, are worried about the costs involved, and do not want to drag the procedure of divorce. The children, too, do not get affected as a result.
The State of California encourages such instances and helps to reach decisions on matters of child custody to let the parents raise the child by co-parenting and mutual decision making. Children can get quite affected by their parents’ divorce. The parents should follow certain guidelines to help decide on child custody.
Communication – The parents should decide on a schedule so that both parents get to spend sufficient time with the child. The family courts of California allow parents to have joint physical and joint legal custody of their child.
Issues to discuss – The parents should discuss what is best for their child. One parent should not try and restrict the visitation and custody rights of the other parent. All decisions made should be based on the following aspects –
- Work and other related duties of each parent to decide who can spend the most time with the child and when.
- The child’s school and other commitments so that the parents can plan their work around that.
- Which parent is going to move out of the family home and how far away are they going to stay. The child should not have to travel a great deal to be with the other parent.
- The status quo of the parents up until the divorce and how much of that is going to be maintained after the divorce.
- Concerns regarding the child’s health.
- Decisions regarding the education of the child.
- Visitation rights on special occasions such as birthdays, parent teacher meetings, holidays and so on.
- Willingness of the parents to bring in flexibility in their arrangements regarding the needs of their child.
- Children aged above 14 years of age should be allowed to have a say in custody issues.
To learn more about the divorce process in California and how mediation can help, please visit our page, What is Divorce Mediation.
Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.
