What Are My Rights as a Parent in a Divorce?
You may have fought to salvage your marriage for as long as possible, for the sake of your small children. However, you may finally accept that you and your spouse have irreconcilable issues and differences. Further, you may conclude that it is healthier for your whole family unit as a whole if you two were to part ways. Throughout all of this, it is understandable if your main concern is how your relationship might or will change with your children. With that put into consideration, please continue reading to learn your legal rights as a parent undergoing a divorce and how one of the experienced Somerset County child custody lawyers at the Law Offices of Kisha M. Hebbon, LLC can fight to ensure they are observed adequately in a final judgment.
Do mothers and fathers have the same rights in a divorce?
It is a common misconception that mothers are granted more favorable child custody, child support, and parenting time agreements in a divorce case. While this may have been the case historically speaking, the New Jersey family courts are supposed to grant equal rights and opportunities for mothers and fathers to maintain stable relationships with their shared small children. This is because, especially in this modern day, it should be considered that a father is primarily involved with the daily upbringing and caregiving of the children while the mother has a demanding work schedule that offers considerable pay, for example.
What are my rights as a parent in a New Jersey divorce?
Nonetheless, the New Jersey family court will not base parental rights on who is the mother and father, but rather on external factors that contribute to the children’s best interests. Usually, the court works towards a joint custody agreement as they find that children should be able to remain close with both parents post-divorce. This is only unless they believe one parent to be parentally unfit. That is, if one parent cannot provide the children with a safe and stable environment for physical custody rights. Or, if one parent has poor communication skills, mental health issues, substance abuse issues, or other personal struggles that hinder their decision-making capabilities for legal custody rights.
But of note, even if a joint custody agreement is ordered, there may still be one parent who is assigned as the primary custodial parent. This means that the children live at this parent’s residence for the majority of the time. In a case like this, the non-custodial parent is typically ordered to be the payor of child support. This is because the primary custodial parent may have to cover most of the children’s daily expenses (i.e., food, transportation, entertainment, etc). Then, an alimony order may be based on the agreed-upon child support arrangement, among other factors.
If you have gotten this far, we now ask you to reach out to one of the skilled Somerset County family lawyers to schedule an initial consultation. Overall, we strongly encourage you to retain legal representation from the Law Offices of Kisha M. Hebbon, LLC for your upcoming divorce proceedings.
