Orange County Child Custody Lawyer

What is the difference between physical and legal custody?

Physical Custody covers who the child lives with, how often the child sees both parents, and what holidays each parent gets with their child. Courts strongly prefer 50/50 parenting splits, but the best interest of the child is always the governing factor.

Legal Custody is the determination of which parent makes decisions about the health, safety, and welfare of a child. Courts have a strong preference for making sure both parents get a joint say in their child's best interests, but there are times where one parent's decision-making is so troublesome, that the other is awarded sole legal custody.

Who determines custody in California?

First and foremost, it is the parents. The courts strongly prefer that the parents reach an agreement as to custody related issues. In reality though, that is not always possible. In those cases, the judge decides.

When a judge is determining custody, their focus will be on the child's best interest.

How does a court determine the child's best interest?

Some factors relevant to determing the child's best interest are:

• The parent's ability to co-parent effectively
• Which parent facililates better accesss to the other parent
• Child's age, needs, school, and social structure
• History of parental substance abuse or domestic violence

Can I get my custody order changed?

The court always retains jurisdiction to modify a custody order, that means a child custody order will always be modifiiable. However, when a custody order becomes final, there must be a change in circumstances between the date of the last order and the present that warrants a change in the order.

What is a change in circumstance?

In deciding whether there has been a change in circumstances, the courts will consider the following:

• Parent's work schedule
• Relocation
• School
• Negligent parenting
• Domestic Violence