On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Custody on Wednesday, August 30, 2017.
There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration when Missouri parents decide to divorce. Perhaps one of the most important factors relates to child custody. Child custody relates to who will be responsible for the child on a daily basis, who will be responsible for making decisions related to the child and parenting time associated with the child.
Many times, the parents will share joint custody. This means that both parents are responsible for the day to day aspects related to the child as well and decisions concerning the child. Additionally, parenting time, or visitation is shared on a fairly equal basis. In other cases, joint legal custody may be what is decided upon. In this case, the noncustodial parent has established visitation rights and is also responsible for sharing in important decisions regarding the child.
Parenting time is an important part of the child custody agreement. In fact, failure to pay child support does not mean that the parent will lose the opportunity to spend time with the child. Although this is an important aspect, parenting time is authorized by the court as a part of the child custody agreement and should be adhered to.
Unfortunately, there are times when one parent is denied the opportunity to spend time with the child. At other times, there are concerns that indicate that the child should not spend time with a particular parent. When there are questions or concerns regarding the child custody agreement or parenting time, the Missouri parent can benefit by discussing these with experienced legal counsel.
Source: courts.mo.gov, “Petition for Child Custody“, Accessed on Aug. 27, 2017
