Marietta GA Child Custody

For many divorcing individuals, child custody and visitation arrangements are the most life-defining parts of the divorce agreement. Few things are more important to parents than the time they spend with their children.

The Marietta child custody lawyers at Smith, Schnatmeier, Dettmering & Kilgo, LLP, understand the importance of family. We work diligently to ensure that custody arrangements suit your needs and those of your children. When your circumstances change, such as a new job in a different city or state, we can petition the court to modify child custody and visitation arrangements.

Legal custody allows a parent to make important decisions about the religion, healthcare, education and other matters important to the well being and future of the child. Legal custody does not refer to where the child will actually live and with whom. Both parents generally share legal custody—this is also known as joint custody.

Physical custody permits a child to live with one parent while affording the non-custodial parent visitation rights. The non-custodial parent is then required to pay child support. Your Marietta custody lawyer fights diligently to ensure that your goals regarding physical custody are fully achieved.

Marietta Custody Attorneys Helps with Sole and Temporary Custody

If circumstances warrant—such as in the case of physical or mental abuse by your spouse—your child custody attorney in Marietta makes sure the child is protected from the abusing parent by fighting for you to have sole custody. Sole custody means that the child lives with one parent and that parent has the right to make all the important decisions that would otherwise be shared with the other parent in joint custody.

Another type of custody that a Marietta child custody attorney can seek is temporary custody. This is granted on a temporary basis until the judge makes the final custody ruling. It requires filing a request for a hearing and an order by the court for temporary custody and support.

The process moves along more quickly if both parents can reach an agreement on how custody should be handled. Once a child custody and visitation decree is issued, if either parent fails to honor the terms of the order, he or she can be held in contempt. Our custody attorneys represent clients alleging and defending custody violations.

If you are looking for Marietta custody lawyers, the law firm of Smith, Schnatmeier, Dettmering & Kilgo, LLP, in Marietta, GA is ready to help clients throughout Georgia.