Custody Agreements

David Siegel: Great. The most common form of custody is joint custody for decision making. Not joint physical custody. Can you explain to the audience what joint custody really means to the parties?

Jesse Barrientes: Sure. There is most of the time you have a custodial parent and a non-custodial parent. Custodial parent is the parent that has physical possession of the children most of the time. Non-custodial parent is the one who doesn’t. Joint custody means that non-custodial parent, the parent who doesn’t have the physical possession of the children most of the time, is going to have a say so in the upbringing in the child or the children’s lives. In their schooling, in their religion, in the kind of the day to day activities. That’s only, though, for people who can get along.

David Siegel: Right. And this is all flushed out in a joint parenting agreement that sets out the rights and obligations and how all this works.

Jesse Barrientes: That’s correct. And it’s pretty extensive. Different divorce attorneys in Aurora do them differently. Mine I try to do very detailed and extensive, and although you can never really prepare for every situation. But we try to make it specific because people are going to go back and run to that. But if two parties are truly, and they should be as it relates to the children, you know there is no reason that – you’re going to be in each other’s lives well beyond the children’s 18th birthday and so you might as well make the best of it. So your idea and your focus should be on nurturing your children and doing the best for them. So you know if you guys get along, there shouldn’t be any reason why it won’t work.

David Siegel: The court also has an interest in making sure that the agreement is first not unconscionable, and two that it’s detailed enough so that the parties are not back before the court in post degree litigation after the divorce is over.

Jesse Barrientes: That’s correct. In fact, one of the requirements is that the joint parent agreement have a mediation provision which basically allows or provides that the parties have to try to work it out first before they can file a petition in court to try to do whatever it is they’re trying to do as it relates to the children.

David Siegel: And the agreement also has to be reviewed annually.

Jesse Barrientes: It does. A lot of them I see where it says okay they’re reviewed annually. Actually it’s –

David Siegel: January 1st.

Jesse Barrientes: Right. It’s an ongoing thing. I mean again it’s whatever’s laid out there and there’s a specific visitation schedule and everything else. It’s the fallback. That’s what’s required. However the parties can agree to do anything they want to so. So for example if one party has vacation that’s not in accordance with their agreement, they can switch off. Or they can switch weekends, or they can have the kids at a different time. And that’s what it’s about. It’s about making the children as comfortable as possible. Not about convenience for the parents.

David Siegel: Okay. So the document is not so rigid that it can’t be modified, at least by agreement.

Jesse Barrientes: Right.

Divorce Book

Child custody

Written response on a child custody filing

Custody agreements

Parenting class requirement

Divorce court costs & fees

Guardian ad litem cost

604B evaluation

Fighting over child custody

Visitation