Best Attorneys, Advocates, and lawyers to assist you in your Court Custody matter. When is the best time to get them involved in your case?

When dealing with a family law matter, it is essential that you obtain the best legal advice possible. And in this regard, the best attorney, lawyer, or advocate for you. Not necessarily the most expensive or experienced. This is so as we are dealing with your children, that require the best care and protection. Child custody, child guardianship, visitation and care are all interrelated. However, they all have one underlying principle: the child’s best interests. If parents cannot agree on what is in the child’s best interest, Attorneys, Advocates, lawyers, and the Court may get involved. Your legal representative needs to be on the same page as you.

What do child custody, child guardianship, visitation and care relate to?

The terms child custody, child guardianship, visitation and care relate to a child’s life in relation to a parent, caregiver or interested party. However, if you are a caregiver, your conduct would directly affect various aspects of the minor child’s life. These include daily care, education, medical treatment, and overseas visits. This article attempts to address how the law expects parents to exercise their parental responsibilities and rights concerning their minor children and what they should do if there are issues. If you have a legal problem relating to child custody, child guardianship, visitation, and care, it may be best to consult with a lawyer, attorney, or advocate.

The law focuses on what is best for the child.

Often parents would fight over what parental responsibilities and rights they wish to exercise concerning a child. That would be the conduct of separated parents, divorced parents or parents who share no history but for having a child together. What often happens is that parents focus on what is best for them and not what is best for the child involved. That is unfortunate as they navigate parental responsibilities and rights with the wrong tools. As stated, they need to focus on what is in the child’s best interests. That is so, as the court that makes the final decision follows the best interests of the child principle.

Examples of when a child’s view may be disregarded

It may, however, happen that what is best for the parent may also be best for the child. However, that would not always be the case. It would, however, be the case by chance. For example, a parent may want to have primary care of the minor child because it means they would not have to travel far to see the child. It would be convenient for the parent. But luckily for the parent, the child’s school is close to that parent’s home. Therefore, it would be in the minor child’s best interests to be cared for by that parent. In this scenario, should a court have to adjudicate over this matter, its reasons for allowing the latter parent to care for the minor child primarily is based on what is best for the child (the location of the school) and not what is best for the parent (less travel). However, the outcome would be different if the school was central to both parents’ homes in the same example. The other parent may argue that they may have more time to care for the minor child and assist in homework, extramural activities, etc. In that case, that parent would have a better chance of obtaining primary care.

What about what the child has to say?

In our law, we are expected to consider what the child has to say about a situation or decision involving them. Here we are referring to a child custody matter. This principle does not apply to all children, and it would depend on the age and maturity of the child involved. For example, a child who is 14 years old would be mature enough to provide input. However, we cannot place too much weight on the wants of a three-year-old child who is not even school-going. However, the three-year-old child’s familiarity with the parent and fondness would play a role. Having said the above, it is essential to note that the law does not blindly follow what the child wants, which would be absurd. What is expected is for one to listen to the child, see their reasons, and consider that in relation to the facts of the matter. This includes what the parents have to say. For example, if the child says they want to live with the father because each second weekend, they go to KFC, and the beach and have fun, and at Mom, it is always homework, a healthy diet, and chores, the child’s reasoning is not sound. One would also need to consider whether a parent can care for a child. It would be senseless to place a child in the care of a parent who is rich, works seven days a week and has a handful of nannies to care for the child, despite the other parent working from home and having a lot of time for the child.

When do I fight for parental responsibilities and rights over my minor child?

If in an unfortunate situation where the parents cannot agree on caring for the child, then it is advised they receive professional help. That may not be seeking legal advice from the word go, and it may be meeting with a social worker or a mediator first. If things are getting out of hand, it may be best to consider seeing an attorney, advocate, or lawyer to assist you in your matter.

What Court would be approached in a Child Custody dispute?

There are three possibilities for the Court you may approach in a Child Custody dispute. They are the divorce court in a divorce matter, the Children’s Court, and the High Court. The divorce court will be the appropriate forum if there is a pending divorce. But not always. If you wish to represent yourself, then the Children’s Court is your best option. If you can afford legal representation, your attorney, lawyer, or advocate will advise you whether to approach the High Court.

Best advice on the way forward when it comes to attorneys, advocates, and lawyers

The best advice we have when it comes to attorneys, advocates, and lawyers in child custody matters is that you make use of the one you can work with. It is not ideal to use the most experienced attorney or advocate when he or she is swamped and has no time for your case. [caption id="attachment_10745" align="alignnone" width="300"]Best Attorneys, Advocates, lawyers to assist you in your Court Custody matter. When is the best time to get them involved in your case? Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf – Trust Account Advocate[/caption]
Posted on by Telelaw

Best Attorneys, Advocates, and lawyers to assist you in your Court Custody matter. When is the best time to get them involved in your case?

When dealing with a family law matter, it is essential that you obtain the best legal advice possible. And in this regard, the best attorney, lawyer, or advocate for you. Not necessarily the most expensive or experienced. This is so as we are dealing with your children, that require the best care and protection.

Child custody, child guardianship, visitation and care are all interrelated. However, they all have one underlying principle: the child’s best interests. If parents cannot agree on what is in the child’s best interest, Attorneys, Advocates, lawyers, and the Court may get involved. Your legal representative needs to be on the same page as you.

What do child custody, child guardianship, visitation and care relate to?

The terms child custody, child guardianship, visitation and care relate to a child’s life in relation to a parent, caregiver or interested party. However, if you are a caregiver, your conduct would directly affect various aspects of the minor child’s life. These include daily care, education, medical treatment, and overseas visits. This article attempts to address how the law expects parents to exercise their parental responsibilities and rights concerning their minor children and what they should do if there are issues. If you have a legal problem relating to child custody, child guardianship, visitation, and care, it may be best to consult with a lawyer, attorney, or advocate.

The law focuses on what is best for the child.

Often parents would fight over what parental responsibilities and rights they wish to exercise concerning a child. That would be the conduct of separated parents, divorced parents or parents who share no history but for having a child together. What often happens is that parents focus on what is best for them and not what is best for the child involved. That is unfortunate as they navigate parental responsibilities and rights with the wrong tools. As stated, they need to focus on what is in the child’s best interests. That is so, as the court that makes the final decision follows the best interests of the child principle.

Examples of when a child’s view may be disregarded

It may, however, happen that what is best for the parent may also be best for the child. However, that would not always be the case. It would, however, be the case by chance. For example, a parent may want to have primary care of the minor child because it means they would not have to travel far to see the child. It would be convenient for the parent. But luckily for the parent, the child’s school is close to that parent’s home. Therefore, it would be in the minor child’s best interests to be cared for by that parent. In this scenario, should a court have to adjudicate over this matter, its reasons for allowing the latter parent to care for the minor child primarily is based on what is best for the child (the location of the school) and not what is best for the parent (less travel).

However, the outcome would be different if the school was central to both parents’ homes in the same example. The other parent may argue that they may have more time to care for the minor child and assist in homework, extramural activities, etc. In that case, that parent would have a better chance of obtaining primary care.

What about what the child has to say?

In our law, we are expected to consider what the child has to say about a situation or decision involving them. Here we are referring to a child custody matter. This principle does not apply to all children, and it would depend on the age and maturity of the child involved. For example, a child who is 14 years old would be mature enough to provide input. However, we cannot place too much weight on the wants of a three-year-old child who is not even school-going. However, the three-year-old child’s familiarity with the parent and fondness would play a role.

Having said the above, it is essential to note that the law does not blindly follow what the child wants, which would be absurd. What is expected is for one to listen to the child, see their reasons, and consider that in relation to the facts of the matter. This includes what the parents have to say.

For example, if the child says they want to live with the father because each second weekend, they go to KFC, and the beach and have fun, and at Mom, it is always homework, a healthy diet, and chores, the child’s reasoning is not sound. One would also need to consider whether a parent can care for a child. It would be senseless to place a child in the care of a parent who is rich, works seven days a week and has a handful of nannies to care for the child, despite the other parent working from home and having a lot of time for the child.

When do I fight for parental responsibilities and rights over my minor child?

If in an unfortunate situation where the parents cannot agree on caring for the child, then it is advised they receive professional help. That may not be seeking legal advice from the word go, and it may be meeting with a social worker or a mediator first. If things are getting out of hand, it may be best to consider seeing an attorney, advocate, or lawyer to assist you in your matter.

What Court would be approached in a Child Custody dispute?

There are three possibilities for the Court you may approach in a Child Custody dispute. They are the divorce court in a divorce matter, the Children’s Court, and the High Court.

The divorce court will be the appropriate forum if there is a pending divorce. But not always. If you wish to represent yourself, then the Children’s Court is your best option. If you can afford legal representation, your attorney, lawyer, or advocate will advise you whether to approach the High Court.

Best advice on the way forward when it comes to attorneys, advocates, and lawyers

The best advice we have when it comes to attorneys, advocates, and lawyers in child custody matters is that you make use of the one you can work with. It is not ideal to use the most experienced attorney or advocate when he or she is swamped and has no time for your case.

Best Attorneys, Advocates, lawyers to assist you in your Court Custody matter. When is the best time to get them involved in your case?
Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf – Trust Account Advocate

Related Post

Can a parent appeal a child custody order granted by the High Court or Children’s Court?

In resolving disputes regarding child custody or guardianship (parental rights and responsibilities) matters, a court will usually be approached. The court is also the upper guardian of all minor children within its area of jurisdiction. A parent or interested party may approach the Children’s Court or the High Court when it comes to parental rights regarding a minor child. The High Court, however, has greater jurisdiction when it relates to issues associated with guardianship rights. As demonstrated below, the courts’ decisions may be reviewed by a higher court. However, before approaching the court, the parties should first try to resolve the matter through entering into a parenting plan.

How are child custody court proceedings initiated?

A parent or interested party would make an application to the court. In the High Court, this would be done with a Notice of Motion and Founding Affidavit, served on the other parent or interested party. An interested party would be someone who cares for the child or significantly forms part of the child’s life. For example, a step-parent, grandparent, or aunt. Once the founding papers are served, the other party, the Respondent, would file their answering papers. Thereafter, the Applicant would reply. This is how evidence is provided in the High Court as stated. The process is different in the Children’s Court. In the Children’s Court, forms with supporting documents initiate the process.

What happens at the High Court or Children’s Court?

Once the latter initial processes are done, and all other court processes are followed, the parties would present their cases to the presiding officer. At the end of the matter, the court (the Judge or Magistrate) would give the judgement (ruling) or order. This judgement or order will be based upon all the evidence and arguments presented to it by the relevant parties. There may also be expert reports that were considered. For example, a report of the Office of the Family Advocate, a social worker or private psychologist appointed in the matter. These expert reports are very useful as the court seldom meets with the parties. The experts would interview the parents, children and other interested parties and provide their expert recommendations.

How does the court make its decision regarding parental rights and responsibilities?

After considering all the evidence presented by the parties and experts, the court will have to decide whether or not to grant the relief sought in the Application before it. The court will be guided by the underlining principle of what is best for the minor child and its experiences with regard to the type of matter before it. The court cannot act on emotion or pity. For example, feel sorry for the mother or father. Their decisions must be judicially exercised. Therefore, there would be no merit to state that the Court always finds in favour of a single mother, or a father. Each case would be decided on its own merits.

What happens after the child custody order is granted?

Now, once the court decides was best for the minor child, the court would impose an order. The order may say, for example, that the minor child should reside primarily with one parent, or an interested party, who is not a parent. Or the dispute may be regarding guardianship rights. For example, the court may make an order that both parties’ consent is not required for a passport application of a minor child. No matter what the order is, it must be adhered to by all the parties concerned.

Can the child custody court’s decision be challenged?

Now after the court heard all the evidence presented and arguments by either party and handed down its judgment and order; does this mean that its decision cannot be challenged? The answer is no. An aggrieved party may appeal the judgement. In other words, the party who is not happy with the presiding officer’s decision may approach a higher Court to revisit the matter. The higher Court would have to decide whether or not the court made the correct decision. For example, if a parent is not happy with the High Court’s decision that custody should be afforded to the grandmother; then either parent may appeal that decision.

When is it advisable to appeal?

Before a party decides to appeal a judgement or order of a court, he or she will have to ensure that there are good grounds to appeal it. In other words, the party who wishes to appeal the judgement must be able to show that the Judge misdirected himself or herself and did not apply his or her mind properly. Furthermore, had the presiding officer applied his mind correctly, a different decision would have been reached.

Practical Example of when an appeal may be appropriate

A practical example would be where all the child care experts in the matter agree that the minor child should reside with the father; but notwithstanding what the experts recommend, the court nonetheless ordered that the minor child should reside with the mother. In such a case, it would make sense to appeal the judgement, as all evidence before the court showed that the minor child should primarily reside with the father and not with the mother. On the face of it, it is clear that the judge made an error. The case should, therefore, be relooked at.

Judge’s Reason

On the other hand, the court could have had good reasons why it ordered that the minor child should primarily reside with the mother. One reason could be that the experts who recommended primary care misdirected themselves. They considered not so important factors in granting primary care. For example, the father’s wealth and his string of domestic workers at his home. In other words, they recommended custody to a parent due to him being very wealthy and can afford the best for the child. In the court’s view, the wealthy parent should then pay more child maintenance to the other parent. The mother, in this case, is better suited to care for the child, as she did since birth. The father, although very wealthy, is most of the time working overseas and unable to personally care for the child.

Know the time periods allowed should you wish to appeal a judgment

If you have valid and good grounds for an appeal, then such an appeal should be made. A later article may deal with the specific rules of court and law that relates to an appeal. The purpose of this article is to bring to the reader’s attention that you may challenge an order that relates to parental rights and responsibilities in relation to a minor child. Please note that the rules and laws regarding appeals are very strict and technical. A party would have to comply with certain time requirements before proceeding with the appeal. Therefore, should a party wish to appeal a judgement, he or she should act upon it timeously as provided for in the relevant rules of court. We are certain that you found the above article useful and interesting. Please consider sharing it on the share buttons below. They include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Gmail and more. Someone may find it useful as well. Should you require business advice or services, feel free to click on these links: Business SA | Private Legal | Envirolaws  
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