Resolve Your Parenting Time Dispute With Your Child’s Future At Heart
When divorced, separated or unmarried parents live apart, a child custody order typically indicates that one parent will have primary custody and the other will have rights to parenting time – also known as visitation. When parents cooperate for their child’s best interests, this arrangement should help ensure that the child enjoys the benefits of a close relationship with each parent despite the split household.
Unfortunately, parenting time arrangements often do not work out as they should. Perhaps the nonprimary custodial parent believes they are being shortchanged – or perhaps the other parent claims they often return the child late or refuse to exercise their rights to parenting time. Either situation can be distressing to the other parent and disruptive to the child’s regular rhythm of life.
If you are facing a parenting time dispute with your child’s other parent or wish to petition the court to modify your custody order concerning parenting time, our Grand Rapids family law attorneys can help. You can turn to Brandon Gardner & Associates with confidence.
Work With A Grand Rapids Certified Domestic Mediator
Parenting time, different from custody, is how a child spends time with each parent. It can involve a schedule of days and also opportunities for the child to have other contact with a parent virtually or by phone. Parenting time is more than simply a schedule on a calendar. Besides the schedule, it may also cover other specifics. For example, a parenting time arrangement may include rules and protocols for communicating about:
- Schedule changes
- Coordination of health care needs, such as therapy or administration of medications
- Transporting of the child’s clothing and other belongings, such as toys and sports equipment, back and forth
When parenting time implementation falls through and ordinary communication between the parents does not solve the problem, legal counsel is recommended. Our lawyers help clients resolve disputes with parenting time schedules. This may happen through:
- Negotiations
- Mediation
- A petition to the court for modification of custody and parenting time
Our law firm’s founder, Brandon Gardner, is one of the few certified domestic meditators in Michigan. Sometimes, other family law firms seek out his services for their clients’ difficult cases.
We believe in reasonable and amicable resolution of parenting time disputes whenever possible. Sometimes, however, our clients believe they need to go to trial for the sake of their children’s well-being. We are prepared to adapt our representation to suit individual cases.
Get Your Custody And Visitation Case Settled
Regularized, child-focused implementation of parenting time arrangements helps to provide the child and parents with predictability and consistency. If parenting time is problematic in your family, reach out to our custody lawyers in Grand Rapids for counsel and advocacy.
To schedule a free initial consultation, call 616-366-9045 or send an email inquiry.