Custody & Child Support

Knowing what to expect in the course of a legal matter can help ease your stress. When you entrust your case to us, we strive to keep you fully informed about the status of your case and to make sure you know which steps will follow.

Child Custody in Vermont

In Vermont, custody is referred to as “parental rights and responsibilities.” Parental rights and responsibilities are divided into two categories:

• Legal parental rights and responsibilities mean the right to make decisions regarding major events in a child’s life, such as elective surgery, religion and schooling.

• Physical parental rights and responsibilities refer to the place where the child primarily resides.

Legal and physical parental rights and responsibilities may be assigned in a number of ways. For example:

• A parent may have sole legal and physical parental rights and responsibility.

• A parent may have shared legal and sole physical parental rights and responsibilities.

• The parents may share both legal and physical parental rights and responsibilities.

• The parents may share physical parental rights and responsibilities, while one parent retains legal parental rights and responsibilities.

Our Approach to Child Custody

Child custody is a critical aspect of divorce that needs the caring, responsive attention of experienced lawyers who are well-versed and up-to-date on child custody laws.

Whether your goal is to obtain sole or shared custody, whether you need to iron out a few wrinkles to reach a parenting agreement or are prepared to engage in a contentious custody battle, we will work with you to develop a strategy that is most likely to achieve a positive result.

We will guide you through each step as we implement the strategy that best meets your needs. Our goal always is to consider the best interests and well-being of the child/ren as we advise our clients about custody rights and laws.

Parenting Agreements and Parent Child Contact Schedules in Vermont

A schedule of visitation between parents and their children is a critical aspect of divorce that needs the caring, responsive attention of experienced attorneys who are well-versed in Vermont family law and national current issues of child custody and visitation laws.

While a divorce is pending and after divorce, the need to maintain contact on a regular basis with your child/ren is vital for all family members. Parenting agreements and parent child contact schedules can be very simple, or they can be extremely detailed and very complicated. While the amount of parent-child contact that each parent has on a weekly basis is important, there are other considerations that need to be taken into account when preparing a schedule, such as developmentally, age-appropriate increases, parent work and travel schedules. school calendars, summer school break, vacations and holidays. It is important that a comprehensive parent-child contact schedule be constructed to incorporate anticipated future events and to avoid ongoing negotiation and misunderstandings.

We work diligently to obtain outcomes that are favorable to our clients. We will take steps to attain a parent child contact order that is fair and equitable to both parents and maximizes the time the child(ren) spends with both parents. The Court looks for a schedule that is in the child’s best interest. While we can offer suggestions and guidance, it’s up to both parents to help establish and maintain a parent-child contact schedule for the long term that works for everyone involved.