Custody/Visitation
We Fight For Your Children
We fight for your children, because one of the worst aspects of separating parents is the effect it has on your kids. You need an attorney who will understand how important your kids are to you and will fight for your time with them. It’s always about the child’s best interests. In Missouri, there are two types of custody: legal custody and physical custody.
Legal Custody
Legal custody can be sole legal custody where one parent makes all of the major decisions, or joint legal custody, where both parents work together to make major decisions that are best for the child. This does not mean you get to dictate what your ex will feed your child for dinner. However, it does mean that you must co-parent effectively on major issues such as education, health care, and welfare.
Custody / Visitation
Physical custody can also be sole or joint. In sole physical custody, one parent raises the child with either supervised visits with the non-custodial parent or no visitation at all. Joint physical custody means that both parents have parenting time with the child.
In Missouri, the law presumes that equal or approximately equal parenting time to each parent is in the best interest of the child, unless the Court makes specific findings to rebut that presumption and find that equal time is not in the child’s best interest. For judges in Clay and Platte counties in Missouri, you must present strong evidence to overcome the presumption of joint custody.
Parenting Plans are detailed plans for the specifics of physical and legal custody of the child. They are specific guidelines that must be followed unless both parents agree not to.