Whether you are in the process of divorce or separation, it is of the utmost importance to secure the protection of your children’s wellbeing and future.
With more than 30 years of experience in parenting time family law, Cassandra Savoy is here to help. Her child custody and visitation law firm has expertly handled child custody cases with highly specialized insight, trust, and ingenuity throughout the Northern New Jersey area.
Courts in New Jersey tend to try to achieve 50/50 parental responsibility arrangements in joint custody situations. These decisions are based largely on the considerations of the child’s or children’s needs, and either parent’s ability to meet those needs.
While 50/50 joint custody parenting plans are generally the most ideal, there are situations in which it is not reasonable or the best outcome. It is also natural for parents who are ending their relationship in divorce or separation to have different views on what the best plan is for their child.
Because of the complicated legal nature of these plans, whether you and your child’s parent agree on all terms or not, it is important to consider seeking the legal advice of the best child custody lawyer in your area to ensure that the rights of you and your child are protected.
A parenting plan or custody agreement is a legally binding document that lays out how parents will care for their children after separating. These plans include and determine answers to questions around what type of care your child will receive and what child-parent arrangements are allowed.
Parenting plans designate whether one parent has sole legal custody of a child, or if the parents will share joint legal custody. This factor ultimately determines who has the legal right to make decisions for a child.
In joint-custody arrangements, parenting plans include a parenting time schedule which describes in clear legal terms the daily living schedule for your child, as well as details on vacations and holidays. Considering the best living arrangements for your child to have all of their needs met - physical, social, or emotional - is paramount to the success of these parenting plans.
When creating and submitting a parenting plan to submit to the court, you should also include specification on a number of details such as visitation rights for a child’s parent or extended family, child support agreements, exchanges, communication guidelines, third-party caregivers, and more.
Creating a parenting plan can be a daunting process, and sometimes even more so as courts in Bloomfield, NJ do not use or offer a standard template for these plans. When you are laying out the legal terms of your child’s future, you have to be sure to include all necessary information and use language in a way that leaves no room for interpretation in order to secure absolute legal authority for the matters that are dictated in your plan.
Speaking with custody family lawyer Cassandra Savoy, esq. when creating a parenting plan will be a step toward ensuring that you have someone in your corner to ensure the best outcome for your situation.
Child support is ordered to ensure that both parents are financially contributing to their child’s needs, regardless of their parenting capacity. Although parents are at liberty to agree to whatever child support plan works best for them, child support orders are most often determined in New Jersey by the courts.
Child support and custody are typically addressed at the same time, as the custody arrangement is a large factor in determining how support is ordered. Other factors include parenting time, the number of children considered in the order, parental income and expenses, and more.
In New Jersey, a formula is used to calculate what each parent should contribute, and this completed formula is used by a judge when determining a child support order. Unfortunately, the formula used in New Jersey typically produces a result that is lower than what might be found in other states in the country. A child support lawyer can be a great resource for you when determining these orders, as they are knowledgeable of state law and factors that can be used to the benefit of you and your child.
When you or your child’s parent has sole physical custody of your child, the parent without physical custody will most commonly have visitation rights. Courts in New Jersey have made efforts to refer to these visitation rights as “parenting time”, as they work to facilitate custody agreements that honor the importance of both parents having a role in a child’s life.
If you and your child’s parent cannot agree on custody agreements and adequate visitation, or parenting time, you may need to speak with a child visitation lawyer who can help you advocate for you and your child.