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Highlands Ranch Child Custody Lawyers

When families with children split up it’s never easy. Going through a custody battle can be one of the most trying and stressful times you might face. During the early stages of any family law case, it’s important to contact a Highlands Ranch child custody lawyers who will help you fight for what’s best for your children That’s where Plog & Stein, P.C. comes in.

Whether your child custody case seems straightforward or begins with great complexity, our team has years of experience helping Highlands Ranch clients with all issues, including as relates to parenting time, decision making, and enforcement of orders. Given the general affluence of Highlands Ranch, our experienced child custody attorneys are also aware of additional subjects that may be important to our clients, including extracurricular activities or private education. Whatever your concern, our legal team will be there to help.

Making Sense of Child Custody Laws in Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Child custody matters are usually split into two main elements – “physical custody” (where the child lives and visitation rights known as “parenting time”) and “legal custody” (who gets to make major decisions for the child). Both fall under the scope of “parenting responsibilities” pursuant to Colorado statute. Courts, including in Douglas County, are required to make child custody decisions based on the best interests of the child and not based on what is easiest for the adults in the situation. Under Colorado law, a judge has a wide array of discretion to determine what is in a child’s best interest and results can vary from courtroom to courtroom.

Across Colorado, more and more courts are open to awarding equal parenting time and shared decision making responsibilities to both parents. Prevailing psychological and legal theories currently believe that having both parents in their lives is good for a child’s development. However, each case is unique and a judge may rule a different outcome.

Factors that influence this decision can include the age of the child or children, medical conditions, the living situations of both parents, each party’s pattern of involvement in the child’s life, history of drug use or domestic violence, and the child’s level of comfort in their home and school.

Because family courts recognize a parent’s fundamental right to have a relationship with their children and believe this relationship (barring extenuating circumstances) is to the benefit of the child, any actions on the part of one parent to harm the other parent’s relationship with the child are taken very seriously by the court.

Courts don’t like to see children put in the middle of conflict or used as pawns. However, courts are also aware that some cases necessitating protecting children, which case included lesser, restricted, or supervised visitation for one of the parents.

At Plog & Stein P.C., our Highlands Ranch child custody attorneys focus on obtaining the best possible custody and visitation orders for our clients. This includes seeking realistic orders with the requisite amount of detail. Specificity matters when it comes to dealing with lesser issues, such as holidays, parenting time exchanges, how parents will communicate regarding child-related decisions, or whether things like private education or soccer will continue after the case is done.

We believe that comprehensive orders, whether arrived at via settlement or court hearing, lead to a smoother road for our clients and their children after the case is concluded.

Not all cases are amicable and some may require also engaging a child custody expert, such as a Child and Family Investigator. Our attorneys are skilled in dealing with all aspects of custody, from drafting of simple parenting plans, to complex litigation, to dealing with issues of child or substance abuse. We also deal with custody emergencies and can often get clients on short notice. At Plog & Stein P.C., we recognize that nothing matters more than the future of your children.

Talk to a Child Custody Attorneys Near Highlands Ranch

Custody matters are a major part of our Colorado family law practice at Plog & Stein. As such, our team is skilled at litigating all types of child custody issues, either as part of a divorce or as a stand-alone case. If you have child custody questions, talk to a Denver family lawyer that knows the Highlands Ranch/Douglas County court system. Call us at 303-781-0322 or contact us via our website to get the process started.