Helping You Implement A Parenting Schedule That Is Right For You
Visitation or parenting time, is a significant issue for many parents. The goal of parenting time is always to promote and protect the best interests of children without regard to the status of the relationship between the parents.
With each developmental stage of a child’s life, parents take on new issues that impact parenting time. A visitation schedule that may have been appropriate when your child was 6 years of age may not be appropriate when your child is 12 years old. Because of this, a parent must be ready to revisit the issue as the circumstances change.
At Warkentine Law Office, in Broomfield, an attorney can assist you in creating and implementing a better parenting time schedule.
Adapting To A Relocation
Today, a growing number of parents are facing the prospect of having to move away from the area in which they and their children have lived for years. Such a situation presents a dilemma for both parents and children and may demand great sacrifices from everyone involved.
At Warkentine Law Office, we do not try to diminish the difficulty of the situation. Rather, the firm is dedicated to helping its clients anticipate and recognize the countless number of issues that can arise when the geographic ties between parents and children are stretched.
Helping Families Meet Their Goals And Overcome Challenges
Throughout his many years practicing family law with the Warkentine Law Office, attorney Brent Warkentine has maintained an unwavering dedication to helping families meet the innumerable and varied challenges that arise when the relationship between the parents falters.
Using his extensive knowledge of Colorado statutory requirements and specific legal considerations that form the contours of any resolution of a family law dispute, Brent assists each client in exploring an array of possible remedies and tailoring a final resolution to meet the goals of the client.
A Trained, Certified Child And Family Investigator
Brent is also a trained and certified child and family investigator. Child and family investigators are experts who assist families and the courts in resolving family law disputes. Not only is Brent well-versed in the investigative process as a result of his training, but he is also familiar with many of the experts who conduct child and family investigations.
Frequently Asked Questions About Colorado Child Custody
Navigating a custody dispute with your spouse or ex-spouse is a stressful and challenging experience. To ensure that your final decisions align with your children’s best interests, you need genuine support from your loved ones and valuable counsel from a skilled family law lawyer. Here are responses to three frequently asked questions we assist our clients with.
How do extracurricular activities, like private school or competitive sports, impact the parenting schedule?
Colorado courts generally focus on the child’s best interests, and that often includes continuity in school, extracurricular involvement and overall stability. If your child is deeply involved in an activity that requires weekday practices, weekend travel or significant parental coordination, the parenting schedule may need to accommodate those demands. That said, a judge will not let one party use an extracurricular activity as a reason to cut the other parent out of meaningful time unless there is a clear, child-centered justification for it.
Will relying on a nanny or family member during my designated parenting time negatively impact my custody rights?
Seeking the help of a nanny, babysitter or trusted family member during your parenting time does not, by itself, negatively affect custody rights. Parents do not have to personally supervise their child every minute of their allotted time in order to preserve their legal position. The courts typically recognize that parents may need support during their parenting time, and they do not treat appropriate childcare as a surrender of custody.
However, if a parent is consistently absent and effectively delegates all day-to-day care to others, that can become relevant in a custody dispute. A court may ask whether the parent is actively involved in the child’s life or not. If a schedule relies so heavily on third-party caregivers that the parent is rarely present, the court may adjust the schedule to better reflect the parent’s actual availability.
Does a parent’s higher net worth give them an advantage in securing primary decision-making responsibilities?
No, it does not. In Colorado, “decision-making responsibility” refers to the legal authority to make major life choices for the child regarding education, healthcare and religion. A parent’s high income does not entitle them to be awarded with sole decision-making authority. The courts strongly encourage joint decision-making unless the parents are fundamentally unable to cooperate, there is a history of domestic violence or one parent’s decisions would endanger the child’s welfare.
Contact Us Today For A Free Consultation
Learn more about how a Broomfield family law lawyer from our firm can help with your child custody or parenting time issues. Call 720-443-5849 today for a free 30-minute consultation or send us an email online.