Los Angeles Physical Custody Lawyer

Sole, Joint and Legal Custody

At Stolar & Associates in Los Angeles our attorneys help our clients work out physical and legal custody arrangements that allow the clients to maintain the strongest possible relationships with their children. If you would like to discuss your options under California family law please contact our Beverly Hills office to make arrangements for a free consultation. You will speak with an experienced custody lawyer, not a paralegal or assistant.

Physical custody, legal custody – what do they involve?

The court is required to see that both parents have the opportunity to maintain a strong relationship with a child, unless one parent is unfit. Child support cannot be withheld if visitation is not granted and vice-versa. A number of different physical and legal custody arrangements are possible:

Joint Legal Custody: California law favors an arrangement where parents share legal custody of a child. Joint legal custody means that both parents cooperate in major parenting decisions, those that involve, for example, religion, major medical care, and education.

Sole Legal Custody: Our attorneys have seen cases where the court granted one parent sole decision-making authority in a custody decree, most often when the non-custodial parent is absent or unfit.

Joint Physical Custody: Joint physical custody describes a wide range of arrangements for residence and visitation and rarely means that a child spends exactly 50% of his or her time with each parent. Our lawyers will be happy to discuss benefits and options afforded by creative custody agreements.

Sole Physical Custody: If your ex is a danger to your child or in some other way unfit to have visitation privileges, our lawyers will petition for full physical custody with limited visitation.

Our lawyers have, for over twenty-five years, served clients in family courts throughout the Los Angeles area, including those in Santa Clarita, Santa Ana, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, and Orange County. Contact our Beverly Hills, California, office for a free consultation with a custody lawyer.