Finding The Right Las Vegas Child Custody Attorney

Your kids are the most important things in your life. Don’t let a Divorce or Legal Separation affect the time you can spend with your kids, or your rights as a parent. Finding the right Las Vegas child custody attorney at a time of separation and flux is crucial if you want to maintain your rights as a parent, and your timeshare with your kids. When looking for a Nevada Divorce attorney or a Las Vegas Child Custody attorney if you are not married, you want to find someone who has extensive experience in child custody litigation in Nevada, and has been practicing family law litigation for at least ten (10) years.

Many of the issues in child custody can be complex. In Nevada, the Court looks at the “best interests of the children” as the primary standard in setting a custody designation between parents. The court will also look at a number of factors enumerated under Nevada’s statutes when making child custody determinations. In fact, Nevada’s Assembly Bill 263 just modified the standards again in child custody litigation with the focus being on the best interests of the minor children. Assembly Bill 263 indicates that a joint physical custodial designation is the preferred custody designation in child custody litigation.

Some factors that courts use in making a child custody determination can be found under Nevada Revised Statutes, section 125.480 and include the following:

(a) The wishes of the child if the child is of sufficient age and capacity to form an intelligent preference as to his or her custody.
(b) Any nomination by a parent or a guardian for the child.
(c) Which parent is more likely to allow the child to have frequent associations and a continuing relationship with the noncustodial parent.
(d) The level of conflict between the parents.
(e) The ability of the parents to cooperate to meet the needs of the child.
(f) The mental and physical health of the parents.
(g) The physical, developmental and emotional needs of the child.
(h) The nature of the relationship of the child with each parent.
(i) The ability of the child to maintain a relationship with any sibling.
(j) Any history of parental abuse or neglect of the child or a sibling of the child.
(k) Whether either parent or any other person seeking custody has engaged in an act of domestic violence against the child, a parent of the child or any other person residing with the child.
(l) Whether either parent or any other person seeking custody has committed any act of abduction against the child or any other child.

However, though these factors are required to be looked at by the courts, the court will also take into consideration several other factors as well. Things such as how far the parents live from each other and the children’s schools are looked at because if one parent is an hour from the children’s school, will that parent be able to get the children to the school? Courts will also look at what are the work schedules of each parent and when are their days off? If a parent is working all the time, or traveling for their job, are they available to care for the children as much as the other parent? If parents have different days off it is easier for the court to award a shared custody arrangement. What if a parent works the graveyard shift? Who will be there to watch the children during the night while the children sleep? There is actually an inexhaustible list of factors and the court can really consider anything that is relevant at all to a particular case. Each case is also distinct and different from every other case.

Therefore, when choosing a Las Vegas Child Custody Attorney one should make their decision carefully, because choosing the wrong lawyer could cost you your kids.  If you are looking for a Nevada Attorney to handle this type of issue for you, we recommend checking out dwp-law.com.