Family Law Attorney in Alpharetta, GA

Starting the Custody Process
If you’re hoping to gain custody of your child, the first step is filing a petition in your local superior court. The Court will balance and weight over sixteen factors when making the final determination of child custody.

Determining Visitation and Parenting Time
Courts decide visitation based on what’s best for the child. Factors like the child’s age, each parent’s relationship with the child, and the parents’ ability to cooperate, distances between two separate houses and the schools are considered.

Custody vs Guardianship
While both involve caring for a child, custody usually refers to a biological parent’s and/or grandparent’s right to control the child’s upbringing. Guardianship, on the other hand, often applies to individuals who aren’t biological parents but are legally responsible for the child.

Withholding Visitation or Parenting Time
Understand that child support and visitation rights are separate issues. Court’s frown on self-help and as such do not encourage parents to violate a court order. Even if you have not received child support, you generally cannot deny visitation—the law sees it as the child’s right to see both parents. Refusing to follow a court order or restricting a child from seeing a parent is often times grounds for the Court to award custody to the other parent.

When navigating the complexities of family law, you deserve to work with a legal professional you can trust. Contact our family law attorney in Alpharetta, GA, today when you reach out to North Metro Litigators.