Dependable Counsel on the Issues That Affect Your Children
For many divorcing couples, child custody and visitation issues present the most significant obstacles to a negotiated settlement. At the Law Offices of Shirley J. Mills, we help our clients understand what the California Family Code requires of them as parents and how a family court judge will weigh the relevant factors in a child custody dispute.
For a free initial consultation about the best ways to reconcile conflicting parental goals while keeping the focus on the best interests of your children, contact the Law Offices of Shirley J. Mills in San Diego. The first hour of attorney consultation is free.
We Can Help You Understand Your Parental Rights and Responsibilities
Because state law requires a judge to resolve child custody or visitation disputes according to the best interests of the children, it can be hard to predict how your position will fare in court, especially when the factors that the judge will consider don't all point the same way.
Our objectives are to help you support your children through the immediate trauma of divorce while giving you the legal and practical tools you need to maintain and strengthen your parent-child relations for years to come.
California law presumes that a stable and substantial relationship with both parents is in the best interests of the children, and much of our work on your behalf will involve helping you find the best way to define both parents' custody and visitation arrangements on fair terms. When parents can agree on custody and visitation issues, you save yourself the risk, expense and uncertainty of how a stranger in black robes will understand your children's best interests.
Sometimes it just isn't possible to work out a satisfactory visitation schedule or custody agreement in divorce. In those cases, we can help you prepare and present your position in family court mediation to see if the help of a trained mediator can facilitate an acceptable compromise. In most cases, you'll have to give mediation a chance before you can present your case for sole legal custody or supervised visitation in court.
A lawyer's advice might also be necessary to modify custody or visitation arrangements on the basis of significantly changed circumstances, or to enforce a child custody order if the other parent is interfering with existing rights. Shirley Mills can explain the procedures and likely results whenever you think that modification or enforcement might be in order.
The protection of children and parent-child relationships lies at the core of Shirley Mills's family law practice. To learn how her experience and commitment can benefit you and your family, contact her office in San Diego.
