When One Parent Wants Primary Physical Custody After Shared Custody During Separation

When a married couple has been living apart for a year and one day, they are legally allowed to file for divorce under North Carolina state law. The year may have been a tumultuous time as they wait out the long weeks before they can end the marriage. Those months can highlight issues they need to address in the initial hearing. Each spouse will want to hire a divorce attorney wilmington has available for legal representation.

The spouses may have had a separation agreement in place with details about various practical matters, including child custody. One or both spouses may want to change that now, having seen how the experience played out over a year.

Petitioning for Primary Physical Custody

The two may have agreed on shared physical custody, for instance, but now one of the parents wants primary physical custody. The other would only have visitation rights. Both of these individuals need a divorce attorney to help them come to some sort of agreement. This could require collaborative meetings or mediation. Otherwise, they proceed to court and a judge decides.

The parent who wants primary physical custody must provide sound reasons for a modification to the existing agreement. Family court judges usually want to keep the situation stable if it is in the children's best interests.


Plans to Move Away

The parent requesting a modification may want to move away from the area, for example, and bring the children along. If the person has obviously been the main caretaker of the youngsters throughout the marriage, a judge may find this request to be reasonable.

The other parent needs a divorce lawyer with an organization such as Rice Law to help battle this request. Now, good reasons as to why the children would be better off residing in that person's home full-time will be considered. Stability, going to the same school, and maintaining close relationships with friends and family are examples.

Questionable Behavior

In another situation, one spouse may have become uncomfortable with shared custody because of the other spouse's behavior. That man or woman may have started drinking a bit heavily, for instance. This makes the kids nervous when they are in that parent's care. If the parent is too busy to spend much time with the kids, they may be cared for by babysitters most of the time during the days. The parent may have started dating frequently and may be having overnight guests when the children are there, which is behavior that the other spouse finds unacceptable.

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