Sometimes, when people come in for a divorce consultation, they don’t even know what questions to ask. In those circumstances, I usually go through an overall description of the process, including the 4 main areas addressed in a dissolution: legal and physical custody, division of property, spousal support and child support, and other general issues to address. I then ask them about their questions or concerns in these main areas.
In Missouri, courts must start at equal, or almost equal time, for awarding physical custody, but that starting point can be adjusted based on many factors. To assess whether there are custody issues in a case, there are many questions I ask including:
- Do you feel that the children are safe with the other parent? That means physically safe, emotionally safe, and psychologically safe.
- Do you believe the other parent lives so far away, or travels so much for work or pleasure, as to impede his or her ability to have equal time with the children?
- Are there issues of mental health or addiction concerns that may impede someone’s ability to care for the children?
- Are there issues of special needs with the children? Has one parent been more involved in the provision of care for a special-needs child as opposed to the other?
- Do the parties agree on legal custody decisions such as medical care, religion, activities, and school?
These are just some of the custody questions and issues you may want to discuss with an attorney during a consultation. For an initial consultation, or any family law questions, please reach out to one of the attorneys at Lee & Decker Family Law, LLC.