Child Custody & Visitation

Columbia, Missouri Child Custody Lawyer

Determining how parental rights and obligations will be managed can be one of the most difficult parts of a divorce or relationship breakup. When your family is involved in a child custody dispute, the Pingelton Law Firm is here to provide the legal guidance you need.

With more than 20 years of experience, Columbia family law attorney Dan Pingelton has the knowledge and skill to help you achieve creative solutions that meet the needs of you and your family. To schedule a free initial consultation about your child custody dispute, Contact us online or call (573) 355-9249.

Missouri's Child Custody Law

In Missouri, family law courts focus on the best interests of the children involved when making child custody and visitation decisions. A number of factors are considered to determine just what those best interests are, but it is usually in the best interest of the children to have a continuing and meaningful relationship with both parents. Therefore, some form of a joint custody arrangement is likely.

Missouri divides custody into two categories, legal custody and physical custody, and within each of these parents can be assigned sole, primary, or joint custody.

• Legal custody refers to decision-making authority. In most cases, the parents will be granted joint legal custody rights — they will share authority to make major decisions about the child's upbringing. These decisions range from what school the child attends to religious upbringing. In rare cases, one parent may be awarded sole legal custody.
• Physical custody refers to how often and when each parent will have the child directly in his or her care — whether living with that parent long term or during shorter periods.
  
  Since it is important for children to have a regular routine to rely on, in most cases courts do not award joint physical custody where the child has equal time living with either parent. However, even when one parent has sole physical custody (or primary custody), the other parent is likely to be granted a significant amount of parenting time ("visitation") with the child.

When you come to us for legal help with child custody issues, you can expect to receive personal representation by Attorney Dan Pingelton. He provides every client with candid advice and guidance about their specific cases. He will answer your questions about child custody and visitation in an honest and straightforward manner based on his more than 20 years of experience in Missouri family courts.

For experienced legal help with child custody and visitation issues, contact our Columbia law firm or call (573) 355-9249 to schedule a free initial consultation.