When you are facing the breakdown of your marriage or romantic relationship, your children and the impact on them will be a concern. It can be challenging to assess the provisions of a proposed parenting agreement or to determine the allocation of these legal rights and responsibilities when the parties cannot agree. However, a skilled child custody lawyer from The Paul Riley Divorce & Family Law Firm could help with the nuances surrounding these cases.
Determining the best interest of the child in Ottawa hinges on multiple key factors. If you are facing any matter involving parenting time or decision-making responsibility, you should contact our lawyers who could safeguard your rights throughout the legal process.
The Ottawa court will use the best interest test to determine parenting time and decision-making responsibility regardless of whether you are divorcing from your child’s parent or were never previously married. Parenting time indicates the actual time you or your former spouse spend with your child.
When you have the right to parenting time, you can ask for and receive information about your child’s well-being, health, education, and overall situation. On the other hand, decision-making responsibility indicates the right to make legal determinations that impact your child’s life, upbringing, and welfare. For instance, a parent with decision-making responsibility can determine their child’s healthcare, education, and religious upbringing.
Decision-making responsibility can be awarded to one parent, shared jointly by both parents, or split, with one parent having decision-making responsibility for one child and one parent having decision-making responsibility for another. If you and your child’s other parent can agree to your preferred terms, your lawyer from The Paul Riley Divorce & Family Law Firm could help you draft a parenting agreement to present to the court for approval. The court can resolve these matters in scenarios where the parties cannot agree on the division of parenting time and decision-making responsibility.
There are numerous ways parenting time and decision-making responsibility may be split between one or both parents. For example, parenting time can be based on a fixed schedule in which both parents spend time with and care for their child regularly or on an unspecified schedule that allows greater flexibility for both parties. Commonly, one parent provides the child’s primary residence, but some parents may share these rights and responsibilities nearly equally.
In situations where concerns about the fitness of one parent or the safety of the child’s best interest persist, the court may approve supervised parenting time for one parent while the other parent maintains the child’s primary residence in Ottawa. In cases where any form of contact opposes the child’s best interests, the court may see fit to deny a party parenting time altogether.
In deciding what result constitutes the child’s best interest in Ottawa, the court will consider multiple factors to assess whether the proposed parenting plan or arrangement will best serve the child’s psychological, emotional, and physical needs.
These factors could include the child’s preferences, relationship with each parent, age, and any special needs unique to their circumstances and well-being. Other factors that could bear upon the court’s decision include the inclination of each parent to promote the child’s relationship with the other and the readiness of each parent to communicate and work together to promote the child’s best interests and cultural or religious upbringing.
Determining the best interest of the child in Ottawa will hinge upon the facts of your situation and that of your child. The nature of the child’s relationship with each parent, the home environment you and the other parent can provide, and the extent to which you and the other parent can work together to see to your child’s needs may all be considered by the court when weighing the impact of the best interest test.
Ultimately, the solution that best serves your child’s psychological, physical, and emotional needs will be one that the court deems is in their best interest. When you are facing a divorce, separation, post-marital dispute, or any other matter where your child’s future is at stake, you need to secure proper legal representation. Contact The Paul Riley Divorce & Family Law Firm today to speak with an experienced lawyer about your case.
Now you can have your Consultation with Paul Riley any time from the comfort of your own home. With video calls from Zoom, your Team at The Riley Divorce & Family Law Firm can meet with you virtually, and learn about your case. All you need is a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop with a built-in camera and microphone.
Paul Riley Law Office
