Omaha, Nebraska Child Custody Lawyers

Establishing a Parenting Plan for Minor Children

Child custody laws help define how two parties will share the responsibility of parenting their minor child. Whether you were involved in a divorce involving minor children or you were never married to the other parent of your child, you will need to establish what is referred to as a Parenting Plan which addresses custody, parenting time, communication, and other important matters relating to your child’s upbringing. A good Parenting Plan will help set expectations and help to both define and clarify the sharing of duties between the two parents.

The Best Interest of the Child

Nebraska’s Courts, like most states, make decisions about child custody based on “The Best Interest of the Child”. The only assumption made about the child’s best interest is that it’s typically best for them to maintain a relationship with both parents. There is a fairly large range in roles for both parents that can be arranged based on what is best for your situation. A few examples include:

• Legal custody
  Legal custody refers to the ability to make major decisions in a child’s life like their religious upbringing or where they go to school. Joint legal custody requires that both parents discuss and agree upon major decisions regarding their child. Sole legal custody requires that both parents discuss major issues regarding their child, but that in the event of an impasse, the sole legal custodial parent has the final decision-making authority.
  
  
• Sole physical custody
  Physical custody refers to the day to day upbringing of the children and where they live. Sole physical custody would give one parent primary custody with the minor child residing with that parent in his or her household more than the non-custodial parent with that parent having a parenting time schedule.
  
  
• Joint Physical custody
  These are custody arrangements where parents aim to equally divide (or close to that) the amount of time the minor child spends in each parent’s household. This requires a lot of coordination and is also made a lot easier if both parents live in a close proximity to their child’s school.
  
  
• Sole Legal and Physical Custody
  This refers to when one parent is exclusively responsible for the decision making and day to day care of the child. While many people refer to “Sole Custody” the reality is it is extremely rare for the courts to grant sole custody, even in cases where one parent plays an extremely limited role in the child’s life. Even in situations where one parent has sole physical custody, they do not necessarily have sole legal custody.

Who Decides How Custody is Arranged?

Every case is unique, because every family’s situation is unique. In some low-conflict cases, the two parents simply work together to create a Plan and then submit it to the court for approval. There are also more highly contested cases where if the two parents cannot come to a decision, the Court will make that decision for them following a trial. What an experienced child custody lawyer can do in addition to helping to develop a Parenting Plan, is help you review what’s important, explain what the courts will look at, and advise you on how to best proceed.

Put Experience on Your Side

Regardless of your specific situation, the Parenting Plan you and your child’s other parent come up with will affect your day to day life, and your relationship with your child for years to come. Make sure that your interests are represented and that you come to the best possible outcome for your and your family.

Call 402-884-7044 or Email Today.