The Job of a Child Custody Attorney

When most people think of a child custody attorney, they may think of a bitter divorce battle with a lot of mudslinging and false accusations. While this is occasionally true, the work of a child custody attorney is varied. This type of legal counsel is involved in adoptions, child support, and visitation. Many of these cases may involve international laws that can be more complicated and dramatic than on-going divorce proceedings.

International adoption has become increasingly popular. Many families are choosing to navigate foreign lands with many complicated laws in order to have the privilege of adopting a child. Needless to say, this should not be attempted without the help of a legal expert. While most adoption agencies will provide some form of legal assistance to their clients, it is always best to have a legal expert who can fight for the rights of both the child and the adoptive parents. This type of legal counsel will have expertise in international custody laws, and since each country has different laws regarding adoption, this expertise will be invaluable. Likewise, some divorcing couples with children may have one parent with dual citizenship in another country. Many times this can make it more difficult to arrange a proper custody agreement because the laws can be very different. Even without the hassle of dealing with international jurisdictions, adoptions can be complicated. For instance, the child's legal guardians must give permission to another party to adopt the child. However, there are situations when the parents are unavailable due to death or incapacitation. If the legal guardian or parents have not given explicit written permission of who is to adopt or care for the child, there could be a legal battle.

A child custody attorney can also handle matters of financial responsibility for a child. For instance, most divorce decrees will outline an acceptable child support payment plan for either parent. However, if the parents were never married, a child custody attorney will first request a court date to determine a custody and visitation agreement. Then, the attorney will submit a request for child support payments on behalf of the custodial parent. While most parents do willingly pay a reasonable amount of money to support their children, some will attempt to report less earnings in an attempt to avoid higher payments. A child custody attorney can investigate and submit the proper paperwork to support their client's requested child support payments.

A child custody attorney can perform a wide-range of services for their client. While retaining this type of legal counsel can be expensive because of its time-consuming nature, the expertise and assistance will be invaluable.