How do we mutually agree on formal custody of my children?
There are a number of ways that divorcing couples can formulate a child custody plan, and what I mean by that is how much time the child or children should spend with each parent. Divorcing couples can do make custody decisions on their own and then have a court enter a judgment. They can go to a mediator, who can be an attorney or mental health professional who specializes in child custody, sit down and talk about it, and come up with an agreement that will ultimately be in an order of the court. They can litigate it. They can actually have a trial because they disagree on a child custody plan. We often have very expensive trials - multi-million dollar trials - because a parent wants one more night with a child. Actually, millions of dollars are spent on hours, because people feel that their children are a symbol of their parental rights and of what they can win or lose in a terrible divorce. There are many methodologies to child custody. The least painful, the least costly, and the most effective model, is divorcing parents figuring out on their own, or with some professional help, what's good for their children based on their ages, where the parents live and their lifestyle. Decide on child custody by mutual agreement. What I found in all my experience is that those kinds of child custody cases work out very well. Almost any custodial plan they come up with works well for the children because the parents support it, and the children know it.
