Child Custody

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Child Custody comes in two forms, physical custody and legal custody.

1. Physical Child Custody– 

Joint physical custody is having frequent and continuous contact with the child.  A major misconception is when people confuse physical custody with visitation.  You can have joint physical custody but have alternate weekend visitation or visitation as low as 15%.  Having joint physical custody is irrelevant of the visitation time you have with the child and joint physical custody does not mean 50/50.  Joint physical custody means that you do not have sole physical custody in which case there are restrictions in place on how often you can see your child and under what conditions.

Sole Physical Custody–

When one parent has sole physical custody then usually there has been a case of abuse, neglect, or drug and alcohol abuse that placed the child in a dangerous situation.  In this case, the courts find it to be in the best interest of the child to have limited contact with the other parent and sometimes when there is contact to have that contact supervised.  There are professional supervisors hired to monitor the parent with the child.  Typically, this is true for cases of physical abuse and severe drug and alcohol abuse.  A lot of times, the Department of Child and Family Services will become involved and make a recommendation to a parent to seek sole physical and legal custody.  In certain situations of severe abuse the Department of Child and Family Services will actually write out a recommendation for the judge to give the other parent full sole legal and physical custody as they find the other parent to be so neglectful.

2. Legal Custody

Legal Custody is custody over the decision making over the education, health and welfare of the child. The court usually provides joint legal custody, even if a parent has sole physical custody there is usually joint legal custody.  That is because the court removes the decision making over the child and the physical custody they have essentially taken the parental rights away.  And there is less harm to a child through joint legal custody since it does not entail physical contact but simply decision making as to health, education and welfare.

Essentially, the court’s evaluate the “child’s best interest” when determining a custody plan.  The court’s do not care how one parent feels about the other parent or what you believe to be best, but they want to see facts, and evidence that would support your allegation and contention that sole custody would be best.

The Atighechi Law Group handles many custody cases, in fact, it is the area of law in which this practice was founded on.  We have a vast array of experience and are confident that we could be of assistance to you.

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Testimonials

She handled my complicated, high conflict custody battle like a pro!

I hired Maryam for my very high conflict and complicated custody battle. She took an emotional, dreadful, and exasperating experience, handled it with expertise, professionalism, and calmness that made it possible for me to be calm and believe that everything would work out. Everything did work out, and I’m SO THANKFUL for her. She’s sharp, smart, confident, and a fighter, all while being reasonable and not making a complicated situation worse. I would HIGHLY recommend her. The best experience I’ve ever had with an attorney. Not for one moment did I ever feel like I was just a paycheck to her, and she was worth every penny. Thank you Maryam, you were awesome!

Excellent and Aggressive Attorney!

Maryam was my divorce lawyer a few years ago. She is personable, punctual and got the job done… We got what we wanted in court as she fought hard for me and was aggressive. She filed all the paperwork that needed to be done on time and correctly. She was also very good at moral support in this tough period in my life but that was just a benefit of using her. I have also called her for legal advice a few times since and she always gave me good legal advice.

Attorney with compassion and conviction.

I really am not sure how I found Maryam originally, but I’m so glad that I did. My divorce and custody battle dragged out for over two years, but in the end I have full custody of my children and have been able to move on with my life. Divorce is emotionally difficult, but having Maryam navigate the legal waters made the whole situation easier. I highly recommend her if you need an attorney who will help you work through your family law matters with compassion and conviction.

Christina C.

I have had a few lawyers in the past 12 years and honestly lost faith in them until I met Maryam. She is absolutely AMAZING! She treats you like your family and makes sure she listens and answers all questions.  Her number one concern is what’s the best decision to be made during some hard times for families. Maryam is respectful of your feelings and helps you make the correct decision for you and your family.  I wish I would have found her years ago! This would have saved me lots grief and money.  She doesn’t want to take advantage of her clients by dragging things out, she gets the job done right and quick. I totally recommend her services to everyone and trust her to fight for my family always! Thank you Maryam for being honest, reliable, and taking care of my family!

A Guardian Angel

There has been no question. My child custody case has been the most trying, exhaustive and draining experience of my life. Apart from the light of my child, there has really been only one other bright spot to the whole experience. Maryam. I never (ever!) expected such compassion in hired legal counsel. Alternately, she has never sugar coated the situation and has been my leader, inspiration and true guide on a very complex and time consuming journey. She has put me to work, and the work has been hard. But her very matter-of-fact approach to why, and her ability to set the example and pace by working so incredibly hard herself, kept me going. As hard as this has all been, I can’t imagine how devastating it would have all felt without this very rare and special person making me feel like they are in my corner from a very genuine place. Words escape me to properly express my gratitude for the fact that lawyers like this really are out there, while rare to find. She’s never cut corners with her efforts and never lost patience with me during a very scattered and overwhelming time in my life. She has gone above and beyond for me, to the point of pleasant surprise which is something I so desperately needed going through this! We had a long, extensive child custody trial and she worked brilliantly both in and out of court to reach an outcome in our favor. Again, I’m at a loss to express my gratitude for her world class efforts so instead, I’ll recommend her from the most honest place in my heart.

Attorney with compassion and conviction

I really am not sure how I found Maryam originally, but I’m so glad that I did. My divorce and custody battle dragged out for over two years, but in the end I have full custody of my children and have been able to move on with my life. Divorce is emotionally difficult, but having Maryam navigate the legal waters made the whole situation easier. I highly recommend her if you need an attorney who will help you work through your family law matters with compassion and conviction.