Child custody: The court may grant joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or sole custody, with no preference for any arrangement. The decision will be based on the best interests of the child. When deciding on custody, the court will consider the following criteria:
- The health, safety, and welfare of the child.
- Any history of abuse by one parent or any person seeking custody who has a blood relationship, or close affinity with the child, the other parent; or a parent, current partner, or a person with whom the parent or person seeking custody has a dating or engagement relationship.
- The character and amount of contact with both parents.
- The habitual or continual illegal use of controlled substances or habitual or continual abuse of alcohol by either parent.
Other factors which influence custody decisions include:
- Which parent is more expected to allow the child frequent and continuing contact with the noncustodial parent.
- If custody is not to be awarded to either parent, then to the person in whose home the child has been living in a wholesome and stable environment.
- The persons deemed by the court to be suitable and able to provide adequate and proper care and guidance for the child.
Support: Los Angeles Divorce Attorney uses the Income Shares Model for calculating child support. If the parents are unable to agree on child support, the judge will make a determination based on a statewide formula. The guideline calculation depends on the following criteria:
- How much money the do parents earn or can earn?
- How much other income each does parent receive?
- How many children these parents have together?
- How much time each does parent spend with their child?
- The genuine tax filing status of each parent.
- Support of children from other relationships.
- Health insurance expenses.
- Mandatory union dues.
- Mandatory retirement contributions.
- Parents may agree on a different support amount if they meet the following requirements.
- They fully know their child support rights.
- They know the guideline child support amount
- They believe that the child support amount is in the best interest of the child.
- A judge approves the agreed upon amount of child support payments.
The court may order that both parents continue to support a disabled adult child who is unable to be self-sufficient.
