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Joseph, Hollander & Craft’s Kansas City child custody lawyers understand matters involving child custody are often emotional. We are ready and able to help you through this difficult time. Our Kansas City child custody lawyers are dedicated to taking every action needed to safeguard your rights and protect the best interests of your children. We will take the time to fully understand your situation and goals, provide a realistic assessment of your options, and offer smart solutions that can result in decreased acrimony. At JHC, our Kansas City child custody lawyers have the experience and skill needed to guide you through whatever child custody issues you face.

Kansas City Child Custody Lawyers On Your Side

When a divorcing couple has minor children, the divorce case will involve orders regarding the custody and care of those minor children.  Both Kansas and Missouri courts use a legal document called a parenting plan to describe the rights and responsibilities each parent has. A parenting plan can cover a lot of information, but it primarily resolves legal custody, residency, and parenting time.

• Legal Custody. Legal custody is the right to make key, long-term decisions about a child and his or her welfare. It is the power and authority to decide matters related to the child’s medical care, education, religious instruction, and similar matters. A parent with sole legal custody is the only person entitled to make those decisions for the child. A parent with joint legal custody shares that decision-making with the child’s other parent.
• Residency is the term used to refer to the place where a child lives most of the time. It may also be referenced as “primary placement” or “residential custody.” The parent with whom the child lives the majority of the time is called the residential parent. The other is called the non-residential parent.
• Parenting Time. Parenting time describes the time each parent will spend with a child. Parenting time designates the day-to-day schedule for divorced parents (e.g., weekdays with one parent and weekends with the other parent) as well as the parent with whom the child will spend holidays and school vacations.

Courts render child custody and parenting time determinations based upon what is in the best interest of the child. The child custody lawyers in JHC’s Kansas City office help clients understand the factors a judge will consider in making that determination and how the judge will evaluate the facts at issue in the divorce or modification matter.  Our Kansas City child custody attorneys work with their clients to understand their needs, their children’s needs, and their family dynamic to develop parenting plans that suit their circumstances and meet the court’s approval. We always aim to provide solutions that can work in the short-term and the long-term, so our clients can focus on their families instead of litigation.

Child Custody Without Divorce in Kansas City

JHC’s Kansas City child custody lawyers are often retained by unmarried parents seeking to establish legal custody for the father and establish parenting time for both parents. We also help individuals who need assistance with grandparent visitation issues and guardianships.

• A judge may enter a parenting plan to govern the rights and responsibility of unmarried parents, but paternity must be established first. A mother or a father may bring a paternity action by filing a petition with the court. Child custody, parenting time, and child support can all be established through the paternity action. JHC’s child custody and paternity attorneys help mothers and fathers file and defend paternity actions across the Kansas City metro area.
• Grandparent Rights. When parents divorce, grandparents may become concerned about what will become of the relationships they share with their grandchildren. Similar concerns may arise following the untimely death of a minor child’s parent. Missouri and Kansas law allow courts to grant visitation rights to grandparents under both circumstances. JHC’s Kansas City grandparent rights lawyers regularly assist clients with these issues. We represent grandparents seeking to establish or modify their visitation rights as well as parents seeking to challenge, limit, or eliminate grandparent rights.
• When a parent cannot provide the necessities for a minor child or is not able to make the big decisions regarding the child’s welfare, a court may appoint a legal guardian to fill that role. Guardianship may be temporary, or it may be permanent. JHC’s Kansas City guardianship lawyers represent individuals on every side of the matter. We help family members establish guardianships for minor children, and we represent parents’ interests in guardianship actions.

Contact Our Kansas City Child Custody Lawyers for Experienced Guidance

Whether you are going through a divorce, involved in a custody dispute, or need assistance modifying or establishing a child custody, our Kansas City child custody attorneys can help. We are here for you in matters of paternity, grandparent rights, and guardianship too.

For help with all your child custody needs, call JHC’s Kansas City family law attorneys today.

FAQs

Who has custody of a child when the parents are not married?

In both Kansas and Missouri, when parents are unmarried, the mother is automatically given sole custody with full parental rights unless paternity has been legally established. Paternity can be established either voluntarily by both parents or by the court in a paternity case.

In Kansas, if the father and mother both sign a voluntary admission of paternity and the father is listed on the child’s birth certificate, that is enough to establish paternity.

In Missouri, parents may sign affidavits acknowledging paternity.

If paternity is not acknowledged or admitted, unwed fathers and mothers will generally need to bring a paternity suit to establish paternity. Evidence may be presented to demonstrate a father-child relationship and biological connection. Once paternity is established, the court will then determine custody matters.

Can a mother keep the child away from the father?

Under certain circumstances, it is possible for one parent to keep a child away from another parent. If there has been child abuse in the home and if the court has entered an order terminating custody then the child may be taken away from the abusive parent. The court would need to determine that it is in the best interests of the child to not see the abusive parent.

In addition, if paternity has not been established, the mother is the only legal parent of the child, and the father has no rights to see the child. In this case, a mother can keep a child away from the father unless the father can establish paternity through a paternity action in the court.

Absent these circumstances, one parent cannot keep the child away from another parent. Without a court order stating otherwise, one parent must allow the other to exercise his or her rights and see the child. Keeping a child away from the other legal parent absent a court order may lead to serious repercussions, especially if a court has ordered that both parents share custody or parenting time.

Can a father take a child away from the mother?

If the parents are married or if paternity has been established, and the court has not determined otherwise, both parents have free and equal access to the child. But, after a court order (including a temporary order) determining custody and parenting time between the parents, one parent cannot simply take away the child from another parent. In some instances, taking a child away from the other parent or violating a court order may be considered kidnapping, or “parental abduction,” for which there are severe consequences.