If you and your child's other parent are cordial and can come to an agreement about a parenting plan, you may be able to avoid lengthy litigation for custody issues. In such cases, you may be wondering if you and the other parent can put together your own parenting plan or if you should have a family law attorney review the agreement. Here are a few benefits to having a family law attorney review the parenting and custody plan.
A Lawyer Knows the Laws
One of the biggest advantages to having a family law attorney review the parenting agreement is that the lawyer knows the laws regarding custody. If you were to include something in the parenting agreement that is not legal, your entire custody agreement can be thrown out or disregarded if there ever comes a time when the other parent does not hand the child over when they should or violates the agreement. Ensuring the parenting agreement is legal and enforceable is a huge benefit to using a lawyer, even if things seem to be agreeable with you and your child's other parent.
A Lawyer Can Explain Language You May Not Understand
Another benefit to hiring a family law attorney to review a parenting agreement is that the lawyer can help you understand legal language that you may not understand. Many people who put together their own parenting plans use forms they find online. Unfortunately, one or both of the parties who sign the agreement may not fully understand what the language means. It is important to fully understand what you are agreeing to and signing, or it can come back to haunt you if there is ever a disagreement.
A Lawyer Can Submit the Agreement With the Courts
The last benefit to hiring a family law attorney to review a parenting agreement is that they can file the agreement with the courts when both parties agree to and sign the document. In most states, the agreement will need to be filed with the court in order for a judge to enter it into the system as an order. This is the only way that police can intervene if one parent doesn't turn over the child or doesn't abide by the terms of the order. If you want to ensure that the other party sticks to the agreement, filing it with the court is the only way to do that. An attorney can handle all of the filings and streamline the process, so you can focus on your child and not the legal aspect of your separation or divorce.
If you and your child's parent agree to a parenting agreement, you may not think about hiring an attorney. However, there are many benefits to doing so. A family law attorney from a firm like Urech & Livaudais PC can ensure your agreement is legal, explain legal language to you and submit the agreement with the courts on your behalf.
When my ex-husband decided to contest my choice to homeschool our children, I knew that I had to defend my right as the custodial parent. Our custody agreement gave me authority over educational decisions, but he still took me to court. I spent a lot of time working with an attorney to find out how best to handle it, and I did a lot of research on the laws as they applied. If you're trying to defend your educational choices amidst your divorce, this site may help. I've built it to share everything I learned and explain the process that I went through to secure my rights.