In Need Of A Child Custody Lawyer?

Child Custody Attorneys in Long Beach, CA


At The Law Offices of Kyle R. Puro, our Long Beach, California child custody attorney knows that you want what’s best for your children, and sometime the Los Angeles County Family Courts may have a different opinion regarding the details of their best interests, which means it may be time to fight for their care.

Whether you are going through a divorce and are seeking custody of your children, are concerned about domestic violence within your child’s secondary household, or are seeking a relocation request, our committed Long Beach, California child custody attorney can help you design a strategic plan that delivers solutions for both you and your children.

Long Beach Child Custody Lawyer

What Are The Different Types of Long Beach Custody Arrangements?

Child custody arrangements in Long Beach focus on providing the best outcome for the children, whether the parents are divorcing, were never married and are or have established paternity, or are same-sex couples with children. The children are the focus of the proceedings inside and outside the courtroom at all times.

There are several types of arrangements that will be determined during Long Beach child custody arrangements, including:

  • Legal Custody: Can be awarded to one parent or both parents.  

Legal custody refers to each parent’s authority to have a say in the major decision’s regarding the child’s:

  • Health
  • Welfare
  • Education
  • Physical Custody: Can be awarded to one parent or both parents.  

Physical custody refers to the child’s physical presence with each parent. This can be distributed between both parents — but does not necessarily mean each parent gets equal time — allowing both parties to spend significant time with the child(ren).

  • Third-Party Custody: Can be awarded to a grandparent, guardian, family member, relative, or friend.

Third-party custody is awarded when giving custody to either of the child’s parents would be physically or emotionally harmful to the children. While the court cannot appoint guardianship, the third party who is pursuing custody of the child(ren) may take the first step in requesting custody when the facts show the parents are unable to care for them.

The court will rule on the child custody request, and if agrees and finds that this arrangement would be in the child’s best interests, the guardian may be awarded physical and legal custody of the child.

At The Law Offices of Kyle R. Puro, our family law lawyer in Long Beach, California will provide the representation you and your family need to pursue the best outcome available for your unique circumstances, so you can face the other parent and the court with confidence.

At The Law Offices of Kyle R. Puro, our family law attorney in Long Beach, CA focuses on the following practice areas:

How Is Child Custody Awarded In Long Beach, California?

When parents are unable to agree on child custody and parenting time during a mediation agreement — or during private negotiations within the couple’s home — the California Courts award child custody standard that is based on the best interests of the child.

This standard focuses on the fact that:

  • Children benefit from frequent and continued contact with both parents
  • The children’s health, safety, and welfare are the court’s primary concern

The determining factors in established child custody arrangements in Long Beach, California include the child’s:

  • Age
  • Health
  • Emotional connection with each parent
  • Ties to the home, community, school, and additional activities

And each parent’s

  • Ability to care for the children
  • History of physical, emotional, or substance abuse, neglect, or violence

Our Long Beach child custody lawyer understands that everyone’s circumstances are different, and so are their child’s needs. We focus on producing solutions that are designed around your unique family dynamic, so you receive the personalized care you deserve when establishing one of the most important factors you can fight for: Custody of your children.

Why It Is Important to Have a Precise Parenting Plan in Place During a California Child Custody Case

Once California parents have determined legal and physical custody decisions, important day-to-day details will be recognized in the agreement or court order, including healthcare decisions, doctor appointments and vaccinations, and religious practices.

These difficult decisions pave the way for creating an equally important parenting plan that allows California parents to establish guidelines for visitation going forward. Parenting plans are also the best way to prevent parenting issues, so everyone knows how to proceed when life gets in the way of planned visitation and custody matters.

California parenting plans should include:

  • Schedules, including weekdays and weekends.
  • Summer, winter, and spring break schedules.
  • Holidays, vacations, and birthdays.
  • Overnight stays.
  • Transportation, including car and booster seat requirements.
  • Neutral drop-off locations.
  • Discipline methods.
  • Sleeping arrangements.
  • Homework and other scholastic responsibilities.
  • Extracurricular activities and parent involvement.
  • Internet and screentime use.
  • Cellphone access.
  • Parent-child communication during off days.
  • Third-party visitation with extended family members.
  • Rules for meeting new dating partners.
  • Post-judgment modifications.

The sooner both parents can work out the details of their California parenting plan, the faster they and their children can transition into their new lives with fewer misunderstandings and clearer plans on what to do when changes arise.

What Factors Will Harm My Ability to Share Custody of My Kids in California?

The California Family Courts place great emphasis on both parents being involved in their kids’ lives. Unless there are obvious, documented parenting issues that are supported by evidence that can be presented to a judge that your involvement in your kids’ lives will only bring them harm, you should have the opportunity to help raise them by sharing custody with the other parent.

The court may impose restrictions on one parent’s custody, visitation, and rights to access their children if there is tangible evidence of:

  • Child abuse.
  • Domestic violence
  • Substance abuse.
  • Psychiatric illness.
  • Violent criminal history.
  • Recent release from incarceration.

If the judge believes there is a serious potential that the child could be harmed, the court may refuse visitation altogether.

Can I Have an Existing California Child Custody Agreement Modified?

There are multiple reasons why a child custody agreement or court order may need to be modified as time moves forward. In some cases, one parent may not be physically or emotionally able to care for the children in the time allotted in the agreement. In other cases, one parent may have felt the initial agreement was unfair and wants the court to revisit the order.

If your kids are in danger with their primary parent, you may need to act quickly to help keep them safe, which may require an emergency order. Our Long Beach child custody lawyers can help you understand your legal rights and options to modify your agreement, so you can move forward with confidence.

Contact Our Long Beach Child Custody Attorney Now

Contact our child custody attorney in Long Beach, California at The Law Offices of Kyle R. Puro by calling 562-653-4583  to schedule a free consultation today, and learn how we will guide you through the legal process with confidence, so you can keep your kids where they belong — with you.

Frequently Asked Questions for Our Child Custody Attorneys in Long Beach, CA

Relocation is unique to each child custody case, but in most cases, the primary parent must gain the other parent’s permission to move out of the state of California when they share custody. In addition, the reason for the move is crucial to both sides’ cases. Common reasons for relocating with the children may include getting a new job elsewhere or relocating to be closer to family. Whatever the case may be, one parent cannot move the kids to punish the other, and the other parent cannot stop the move without proving the move would be detrimental to their relationship with the kids. Child relocation cases are complex. Our Long Beach child custody lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and options, no matter which side of the courtroom you are on.

If you and the other parent were never married, our child custody attorneys Long Beach can help you understand the first steps in establishing paternity, as you must prove the child is yours before you can explore the next steps in pursuing child custody or visitation.

If the father is not listed on the birth certificate, or the couple does not have a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, the parent(s) must establish paternity before the father gains the right to custody or visitation. To do so, a judge can order the father to take a DNA test to confirm or deny whether he is the father.

In California, the court may consider a child’s living preference if it believes he or she is of a suitable age — which is typically around the age of 14 — to testify about their wishes. Although the decision to hear the child’s wishes is within the judge’s sole discretion.

No. Either parent can be awarded child custody based on their abilities to raise the children by recognizing what is in the children’s best interests.

Our child custody lawyer in Long Beach knows that it is not easy to agree on custody and visitation schedules. However, when parents cannot agree in private, or during mediation, the judge will decide who gets custody of your children for you.

Child custody mediation is mandatory in California and is required to occur before the case can be heard by a judge. The parents do not have to agree to their child custody arrangement during mediation, but they must try before they can appear in court to litigate the matter.

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