What happens when parties who are dating decide to break up and they have children from the relationship? This is a question I get asked a lot as a child custody attorney in San Diego.
There are many similarities in this situation as there are when a couple is divorcing and they have children. One of the most important issues to focus on is the physical custody of the children. It is important to decide with which parent the children will be living. Will it be with the mother, the father or a joint custody situation where they spend an equal amount of time with both parents?
Whether divorcing or ending a dating relationship, there are many factors to be considered when determining the custody situation. A longer discussion of each factor would take an article of its own, but suffice to say that the familiarity between the children and each parent and time spent with each parent is a good starting point to determine the physical custody issue.
When a couple is married, they have generally been living together and raising their children. Unless a couple who has been dating has been living together, they have not been in a situation where both parties have been living with their children. This is a major difference between a couple who is divorcing and a couple who is ending a dating relationship. This can also be a major factor to be considered when determining physical custody of the child.
Similar to a divorcing couple, another factor to be considered when determining custody is how much of a role each parent in the dating relationship has been involved in their children’s lives. Although they may not be living with their child, a parent may be involved in taking the child to school, to extra-curricular activities, or spending time with them on a regular basis.
While I have spoken on factors to consider for determining physical custody of a child one of the major differences between divorcing couples and those ending their dating relationship is the type of support that can be requested from the court. Whether a couple is divorcing or ending their dating relationship, a parent can usually request child support from the higher earning parent to help them care for the child’s needs. A big difference, however, is that when divorcing, spousal support can be requested from the party who earns less while an unmarried couple cannot request spousal support. Also, divorcing couples are able to divide assets, while generally an unmarried couple cannot.
To inquire further about the choices available from the court when ending a dating relationship consult with a local family law attorney who can discuss this process as it relates to your specific situation. In San Diego, contact the Law Offices of Brian A. Victor for more information on children and the court process. www.brianvictorlaw.com/san-diego-family-court-services-lawyer/
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