Virginia Beach Child Custody Lawyer

When you go through a breakup or divorce, a lot of emotions are at play. This is particularly true if you share children with your soon-to-be ex. Gaining or maintaining custody of your kids is often a top priority for parents.

There are two types of custody in Virginia: legal custody and physical custody. Courts determine custody after an evaluation that is based on the best interests of the child. Our Virginia Beach child custody attorneys can work with you to help you determine your rights and work to get, keep, or modify custody of your kids.

At Poole, Brooke, Plumlee, we are dedicated to helping our clients achieve the best possible outcome for their cases. We work with parents in and around Virginia Beach who are dealing with family law matters, including child custody and support. Reach out today to learn more about our top-notch legal representation for parents.

Types of Custody in Virginia

There are two types of custody in Virginia:

Legal custody is a parent’s right to make decisions about their child’s wellbeing. It can include making decisions about religion, education, and medical care.
Physical custody refers to where a child spends most of their time.

In a child custody case, a court may award joint custody to parents, sole custody to one parent, or a combination of the two.

Joint custody is often viewed as the best option and is typically awarded when the parents can get along and communicate with each other. Joint legal custody means that both parents have the right to make decisions for their child, and neither parent should make an important decision for the child without consulting the other parent. If the parents cannot agree on a big decision – such as whether or not to get a child vaccinated – then the court will decide the issue for them.

Joint physical custody means that the parents share physical care and custody of the child. This does not necessarily mean that the child will spend half of their time with each parent. Many different custody arrangements could be put in place with joint physical custody, such as a child staying with one parent during the week for school but then living with the other parent on the weekends.

If a parent has sole legal custody, they get to make all decisions on behalf of the child without consulting the other parent. It is fairly unusual for a court to order sole legal custody, but may happen in cases involving domestic violence or other situations where one parent has demonstrated that they are not capable of making safe decisions for their child.

Sole physical custody is more common. With this type of custody arrangement, a child has one primary residence. The noncustodial parent then has visitation or parenting time. For example, a child might live throughout the school year with one parent but then have visits with their other parent over school breaks, holidays, and summer vacation.

Importantly, Virginia child custody law prohibits judges from assuming that joint custody is in the child’s best interests. Instead, judges must make an independent evaluation to determine the best custody arrangement based on the best interests of the child.

How Child Custody Is Determined

If you get along with your ex, it may be possible to create a parenting plan with them. If you can agree on physical and legal custody and parenting time, then you can submit the agreement to the court for its approval. As long as the agreement is in the child’s best interest, the judge will approve the agreement.

In some cases, it may be difficult to agree to all of the details in a custody agreement. Custody mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). It involves the parents meeting with a neutral third party – the mediator – in an attempt to agree on any outstanding custody issues.

However, if you cannot reach an agreement, then a court will have to decide for you. Custody matters are handled by the local Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Virginia. If you don’t already have a custody order, you can file a petition to request custody or parenting time with the court. Similarly, if you have a custody or visitation order and want to modify it, you can file a motion to amend the order with the court.

Judges in Virginia are required to make custody determinations based on the best interests of the child. No preference can be given based on the gender of the parents (such as favoring the mother) or in favor of joint custody. Judges must consider the following factors:

The age and physical and mental health of the child;
Each parent’s age and physical and mental health;
The relationship existing between each parent and the child, considering the positive involvement with the child’s life, the parent’s ability to accurately assess and meet the child’s emotional, intellectual, and physical needs;
The child’s needs, including a relationship with siblings, peers, and extended family;
The role that each parent plays in the child’s upbringing;
The propensity of each parent to actively support the child’s relationship with the other parent (including whether either parent has a history of denying the other parent access to the child);
The willingness of each parent to maintain a close and continuing relationship with the child;
Both parent’s ability to cooperate in and resolve disputes regarding the child;
The child’s reasonable preference, if the court finds that the child is of reasonable intelligence, understanding, age, and experience to express a preference;
Any history of family abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, or any violent acts or threats within the past 10 years; and
Any other factors the judge thinks are relevant.

For example, consider a situation where a child has significant special needs. One parent has a flexible work schedule and has spent a lot of time and energy learning how to help their child, while the other parent works long hours and doesn’t know much about their child’s condition. In this situation, the best interests of the child might be to award one parent sole custody while the non-custodial parent would have visitation. If both parents can make decisions together, they will likely have shared legal custody.

In most cases, visitation is unsupervised. However, there may be situations where a parent simply isn’t capable of making safe decisions when it comes to their child’s mental, physical, or emotional health. A court may order supervised visitation, where the parent and child will spend together at an approved location with a third party that has been approved by the court.

Supervised visitation is often ordered in cases involving a parent who has a history of substance abuse. The hope is that over time, the parent will demonstrate that they have changed and are capable of having unsupervised visitation.

A child’s needs – and a family’s situation – often change over time. You can agree to a new parenting arrangement with your ex, which will then be approved by the court as long as it is in the best interests of the child.

However, if you can’t agree, then you will need to go through a formal legal process to modify custody. If there has been a significant change in circumstances, you may be able to get the custody order modified. Again, the court will need to go through the list of factors to determine the best interests of the child before issuing a new custody order.

Legal matters involving children are often emotionally charged. People want to protect their parental rights and do what they think is best for their children. If you are experiencing child custody issues, our Virginia Beach child custody attorneys can advocate for you and your children.

Our law firm will fully evaluate your family law issue, and help you understand your rights and options. We will then offer you legal advice based on your specific situation and Virginia law. Ideally, we will be able to agree with your ex – but if we cannot, then we will help you protect your custody and visitation rights through the court.

Want to Establish Your Right to Custody? Give Us a Call.

There are few legal issues as challenging as those involving your children. For most parents, it isn’t just about money or winning – but making sure that their children are OK. We can help you with a range of family law matters, including separation agreements, divorce, child custody, and child support.

Poole, Brooke, Plumlee works with families throughout the greater Virginia Beach region to help them get the best possible outcome for their custody case. We offer a full range of legal services related to Virginia family law, working with our clients to understand their goals. To learn more or to schedule a consultation with a Virginia Beach child custody lawyer, give us a call at 757-499-1841 or fill out our online contact form.