Protecting Your and Your Child's Best Interests in Monroe County & Rochester, NY

Assessing child custody and visitation rights in New York is not an easy matter.

When you need a local (whether it be Livonia, Dansville, Rochester, Bath, or Warsaw) child custody attorney to view your family court case from every possible angle, contact the attorneys at Duke Law Firm, P.C., A Family Law Firm.

Our family law attorneys serve clients with attentiveness and responsiveness in Livingston, Wyoming, Monroe, Steuben, Wayne, Ontario, Allegany, Genesee, and Orleans counties.

Should I Hire a Lawyer for Child Custody?

It is recommended to hire a child custody attorney to have an influential advocate on your side, particularly in complex situations or in cases where the other side has counsel. Here are many reasons you should hire an experienced lawyer to guide you through the court process and reach the best outcome of your custody arrangement.

Types of Custody in New York State

Sole custody is when one parent has decision-making authority and the noncustodial parent does not have significant rights to information regarding the children.

Joint custody is when the parents are both involved in decision-making and have open access to all records of the children.

Whether custody is sole or joint, unless there is a history of abuse or significant criminal behavior, having a child spend substantial time with both parents is the court’s strong preference.

Before making an order or authorizing any custody agreement, the court may consider additional factors, such as the child’s preferences or the testimony of an assigned child psychologist.

At What Age Can a Child Decide Which Parent to Live With in NY?

In New York a child does not have right to choose where they live until they reach the age of eighteen.

Nevertheless, most NY courts hesitate to go against the wishes of a child age 14 or older unless their decision places them at immediate risk of physical harm.

Some courts will not substantially go against the sound preference of any teenager or intelligent pre-teen in a custody case.

Let Our Child Custody Lawyers Help You Craft a Visitation Plan

The family court system is incredibly busy.

When crafting a visitation schedule, the courts will simply not have or take the time to properly consider and incorporate complicated factors, such as an atypical work schedule.

This is a major drawback of contested family law cases.

Any agreement affecting the children will be reviewed by the court and only approved if it appears to be in the child’s best interests.

When the court makes a determination after a hearing/ trial, the goal is to protect each parent’s right to be a parent, while emphasizing the child’s best interests. After a trial, most often neither parent has the schedule or terms they wanted in their final custody order. Therefore, a well-crafted custody and visitation plan can be in everyone’s best interests even if it means both sides must give a little to get one completed.

Our attorneys use years of experience to see all the terms and nuances of a workable agreement are negotiated so you can have a plan which works in your children’s best interests.

Take Emotion Out of the Equation

Our over 25 years of experience allow us to see the long-term implications of our clients’ cases.

As a result, our first priority is always to resolve your family law case with as little animosity and acrimony as possible. Reducing the tension allows both parties to continue partnering on parenting their children.

If the other party, however, is being unreasonable, we will not hesitate to take your family law case to court.

Do You Really Need a Lawyer for Child Custody In New York?

Filing for custody might become a bit more complicated without a lawyer is when one parent wants to file for either sole physical or legal custody.

You need to make sure you thoroughly understand the New York State’s child custody laws.

A family and divorce attorney can help guide you through every challenge of your family law case.

Turn to the Attorneys at Duke Law Firm, P.C., A Family Law Firm.

If you need a lawyer’s assistance with your child custody case, child support, or other family law concerns, you can reach out to our team.