Services
The complexities of a divorce are especially hard on children. At Tucker family law, their needs are always a top priority. Our child custody lawyers are ready to provide valuable counsel for whatever stage of custody you’re encountering — from forging an initial agreement to modifying custody terms as children grow and needs change.
Many parents worry about the negative effects of divorce on their children and wonder how they can be minimized. Although custody issues are emotionally intense, we are adept at reducing acrimony and unnecessary disputes that can be harmful to children.
Our child custody attorneys are admitted to practice in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Custody laws and standards differ in the three jurisdictions, but ultimately, the best interest of the child or children is the over-arching standard in custody matters. Whether the discussion is about timesharing schedules, decision-making for the children, or other issues, the best interest of the child or children is the paramount consideration.
Toward that end, our attorneys do not apply standard or one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we craft parenting plans and custody provisions that are tailored to each family’s particular reality, needs, and desires.
Child Custody Negotiation: Choosing the Best Method
Most parents intend to cooperate with each other to raise their children together, even when facing a divorce. Their cooperation takes different forms when negotiating a resolution of custody.
Some parents engage in kitchen-table negotiations directly with the co-parent and have their lawyer simply draft the resulting agreement. Other parents prefer to communicate and negotiate with their co-parent only through lawyers. Mediation, the Collaborative Divorce process and the involvement of mental health professionals with relevant expertise are also excellent options.
We do not advocate for any single approach to resolving custody issues. Instead, we make sure parents understand all of the custody process options available to them and then assist them in assessing the pros and cons of each choice, given the situation and personalities involved.
When to Turn to Court
We assist clients in seeking resolution of child custody issues in court when this may be the only or best alternative. A court determination can be appropriate when:
- Efforts at cooperation fail and parents are unable to agree to a parenting plan
- One spouse refuses to work with the other parent
- One spouse removes the children to another jurisdiction or another country
- One parent is unable to co-parent due to health or addiction issues
In these circumstances, our custody attorneys advocate in court for our clients. However, even when litigating child custody issues in court, we continue to encourage parents to keep their focus on the goal of having healthy children. Mudslinging and unnecessary conflict is costly, unproductive and can have negative effects on children.
By focusing on the best interest of the child, regardless of the process, we strive to ensure that our clients will be able to look back on their divorce 20 years from now and feel positive about their actions and choices.
Child Custody Representative Cases
Our family lawyers have successfully:
- Negotiated a unique time-sharing schedule involving a teenage child that allowed the non-working parent to be with the child after school while the working parent spent approximately equal overnights with the child.
- Litigated a case in the District of Columbia between non-married parents of a young child, which was affirmed on appeal, in which the lower court rejected the father’s insistence that joint custody meant equal time in the District of Columbia.
- Obtained sole custody for a parent of young children whose spouse was unable to care for the children due to significant mental health issues.
- Negotiated a joint custody agreement involving a client who had addiction issues, which afforded our client the opportunity to co-parent the children and spend significant time with them, while protecting the children in the event that the client’s addiction issues were not kept under control.
- Created an environment through Collaborative Practice in which both parents agreed to continue to provide financially for their children, who were not yet “launched” into adulthood, beyond the age of majority.
Paternity
Significant experience with all facets of paternity disputes.
Establishing paternity requires significant knowledge of the court system and of pertinent statutes and case law. Our family law attorneys have extensive experience in Paternity Court. We have handled court cases that determine who a child’s father is (paternity adjudication), that disproved the paternity of an alleged putative father, and that established ongoing child support for the benefit of the child.
While settlement is generally the preferred option, we are skilled in preparing for trial. The willingness and preparation to go to trial can help assure that you receive the best possible outcome and maintain an advantageous position in the future if custody or child support issues arise.
We previously litigated a case that resulted in the biological father being reunited with his less-than-two-year-old child after the biological mother denied him access and attempted to claim that he was not the biological father.
We also frequently negotiate and litigate outcomes that establish a stream of child support payments for the child of unmarried parents.