Child Custody Attorney

Of all of the areas of law, perhaps the most emotionally difficult involves litigating the welfare of innocent children. Although people going through a divorce have many concerns ranging from equitable distribution to maintenance, if the parents cannot agree about custody and/or parenting time (visitation), the Courts will be forced to make a decision for them. The issues involve whether legal and/or physical custody will be sole or joint. The single gold-standard that the Courts utilize when ruling on custody is what is in the “best interests of the children.” Simply stated, the judge is trying to do what the parents may be unable to do themselves because their respective disdain for each other and desire to “win” may blur reasoned decision-making.

Don’t Gamble on Legal Matters Concerning Your Children.
– Matthew Seidner, ESQ

Many clients wonder whether there is still a slant in favor of the mother when deciding child custody and the short answer is “no”. There is a lot of case law, especially from the past decade, that makes it clear that the best interests of the children, and only their best interests, the paramount concern. Therefore, first and foremost, the Court will strive to make a decision that will cause as little discomfort to the children as possible.
That often means determining which parent was already the primary caregiver. However, no two cases are identical and each one will be assessed on its own merits. Child custody in a divorce looks at several factors. Custody will then be awarded to the parent who can provide the most stable and supportive environment for the children. Some of the most common factors at issue are:

The history of each parent’s relationship with the children;
The strengths and weaknesses of the parents;
Work schedules and overall parental availability;
Instances of child abuse, substance abuse, neglect, or other issues of poor parenting;
The age and physical and mental health of the parents;
The post-split support network of each parent;
Depending upon the age/maturity of the children, which parent they prefer to live with;
Any other factor that is relevant, most importantly being any special needs of a child.
The Law Offices of Seidner & Associates, PC’s attorneys have many decades worth of combined child custody experience. Our lawyers have an outstanding history of handling child custody matters in both the Supreme and Family Courts in multiple counties. While we always strive to assist with a mutually acceptable settlement whenever possible, we are ready to fight to the end when we need to. Because we will only take a winnable case to trial, our success record is substantial. Our testimonials speak for themselves as we have won not only countless ordinary custody cases but many protracted and complex ones. Many times our case is so strong that the other side concedes the loss before the ruling because they do not want to spend more time and money only to face the inevitable. We bring witnesses, documents, recordings, whatever evidence we can, to win the cases we litigate. We realize that we are not only fighting hard and intelligently for the parent we represent, but for the children.

Our custody services go beyond obtaining custody for our clients. We also help with procedures such as obtaining modifications of existing Orders or litigating relocation when one parent wants to move away or one parent wants to prevent the other from doing so. Regardless of what we need to do for our clients, one thing is always the same: every case receives our full attention and compassion. We hope that our prospective and/or new clients read what others have written on our website and other lawyer review websites. It is very important to know that when in a custody battle you are not alone and with The Law Offices of Seidner & Associates, PC, you will never feel that your attorney is not a simple phone call or email away.

Come in for a complimentary consultation and we will assess your case, tell you the truth, and help you make the best decision for your children when custody is involved.