In a bitter divorce, one of the parents might seek to punish the ex by trying to cut them out of the children’s lives.
Nevada has the highest divorce rate in the US – 4.5 divorces for 1,000 people. That’s quite a lot but hardly unexpected in a state known for its quick marriages. Getting a divorce in Nevada is just as easy as getting married. There’s no waiting period like in other states and you can move on with your life in as little as 10 days. That’s, of course, if there are no disputes over marital property or children involved.
If you are thinking about getting a divorce and you have minor children, you should get in touch with experienced Nevada child custody lawyers to understand what your rights are.
Nevada residents can solve the custody issue by agreeing on a parenting plan. That’s the most elegant and least painful option. In order to do that, both parents must understand that a civilized well-thought parenting plan is in the child’s best interests. If they cannot do that, it will be up to the judge to decide and they will also have the child’s best interests in mind.
There are two issues to be resolved – physical custody and legal custody.
Physical custody refers to the very practical aspect of where the child is going to live. Sole custody means that the child will live most of the time with one parent, while the other gets visitation rights. These include overnight stays, alternate weekend stays and how the parents are going to split the holidays and school breaks so they can both spend time with the kids. A joint physical custody agreement means that the parents get to spend a roughly equal amount of time with the children.
Legal custody refers to which parent is going to make the important decisions for the child’s welfare – what school they’re going to attend, what medical treatments they should get, etc. This also can be sole or joint custody.
When you reach out to knowledgeable Las Vegas child custody lawyers they will explain the merits of coming to an agreement. According to the law, if the parents cannot come to an agreement they will be required to attend mediation.
In a bitter divorce, one of the parents might seek to punish the ex by trying to cut them out of the children’s lives. This is clearly not in the children’s best interests and, if the matter goes to trial, the judge will not look favorably on any actions preventing the other parents from seeing the children. Keep in mind that until the divorce is finalized it is presumed that you have joint custody of the kids.
Another way of getting back at the other parent is to coach the child to say they want to live with you. It is up to the judge to decide if the child is old enough and mature enough to express their own wishes. Even if they do hear the child, that doesn’t mean that they’ll take their expressed wish into consideration, so don’t pin your hopes on that.
If the parties come up with a parenting agreement and have an experienced child custody lawyer put everything in writing, the judge will examine it and will sign off on it if they find that it’s in the child’s best interests.
If the parents keep fighting, the judge will review the situation and decide on a parenting plan which will be mandatory, whether you think it’s fair or not.
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