Child Custody

Our law firm represents clients who respect and understand their solemn duty to fostering a healthy relationship with their children. In some cases, custody issues can be resolved through mediation. Where that is not possible, our firm possesses the experience and skills necessary to vigorously defend our client’s right to make decisions regarding their children and to have physical custody of them.

For those of you who may be unacquainted with the language used in Pennsylvania’s Family Courts, physical custodianship determines where a child will reside, legal custodianship determines what parent has the authority to make important decisions regarding education, religious upbringing, medical care, and much more. Physical custody can take the form of one parent getting sole custody, primary custody, shared custody, or partial custody. In some instances, a family law court may order visitation, which is the right of a non-custodial parent to visit with the child, but not the right to remove the child from the custodial parent.

When making a custody determination, the Family Court will ultimately base its decision on what it perceives to be in the best interests of the child. Some of the many factors that are considered when making this determination include:

Which parent has better parenting abilities;

Child’s preferences;

Which parent will best foster a healthy relationship between the child and the other parent;

Which parent can spend the most time with the child;

Each parent’s history, for example, whether they have abused the child, engage in recreational drug use, or have a criminal record;

Which parent provides a home that is safe, stable and nurturing.