Kansas City Child Custody Lawyers

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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 attorneys 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.

What Is 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.

What Is Residential Custody?

“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.

The 50/50 Custody Rule in Missouri

Missouri statute contains a rebuttable presumption that the best interests of the child will be served by an award of equal or approximately equal parenting time to each parent.

Because this is a presumption, it is the starting point for consideration of child custody arrangements. A judge will award approximately equal parenting time to each parent unless persuaded to take other action.

Because the presumption is rebuttable, it is not absolute. If evidence is produced that convinces the judge the default rule should not apply, the judge does not have to award equal parenting time to both parents. A court may be persuaded to vary from the presumptive rule if, for example, if the parents agree that 50/50 is not a fit for their family, if there has been a pattern of domestic abuse, or if there is an untreated substance abuse disorder.

What Is 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.

Parenting time adjustments

When a parenting plan has been entered in divorce or paternity action, the terms of that plan govern unless and until the plan is formally changed by the court. If your family’s circumstances have changed, it may be necessary to modify the parenting plan to accommodate those changes.

In order to alter the parenting time provisions of the parenting plan, you will need to file a motion with the court. This a formal document that sets out the changes you want to be made to the parenting plan.

What Is a Parenting Plan?

When a divorcing couple has minor children, the divorce case will involve orders regarding the custody and care of those minor children. Both Missouri and Kansas 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 issues around:

• child custody arrangements
• visitation schedules (including holiday schedules)
• decision-making regarding significant issues
• communication methods between parents

How a Kansas City Child Custody Lawyer Can Help Your Family

Joseph, Hollander & Craft’s Kansas City child custody lawyers are often retained by unmarried parents, step-parents, and other family members in myriad ways. Generally, we help our clients craft parenting plans that work for them while supporting the best interests of their children. This is often part of divorce litigation, but we also assist with:

• Paternity Actions. 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. Our 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 both allow courts to grant visitation rights to grandparents under both circumstances. Joseph, Hollander & Craft’s grandparent rights lawyers in Kansas City 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 access.
• Guardianship. 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. Our 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.

Common Considerations When Determining Child Custody in Missouri

Courts render child custody and parenting time determinations based upon what is in the best interest of the child. Considerations that will be taken into account include:

• the child’s needs
• the parents’ abilities, parenting skills, and home environment
• the parents’ abilities to encourage a positive relationship with the other parent
• the parents’ wishes
• the child’s wishes

Our child custody attorneys in Kansas City help clients understand how the judge will evaluate the facts at issue in the divorce or modification matter. We 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. Our family law attorneys 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.

Frequently Asked Questions about Child Custody

Can I still see my child if I’m not paying child support?

A co-parent cannot prevent the other parent from court-ordered visitation simply because the parent has not paid child support. However, failure to pay child support can result in a finding of contempt or criminal charges.

Can I terminate my co-parent’s rights?

Termination of parental rights is not something that is undertaken lightly. But it may be done when it is in the child’s best interest.

To request termination of parental rights in Missouri, you must file a petition and establish with clear and convincing evidence that:

• the parent has abandoned the child;
• the parent has abused or neglected the child and certain aggravating factors exist;
• the parent has been convicted of certain criminal conduct;
• or some other statutory factor supporting termination applies.

To request termination of parental rights in Kansas, you must file a motion or petition under the Kansas Child in Need of Care Code and establish with clear and convincing evidence that:

• The parent is unfit to care properly for a child;
• The parent’s conduct or condition is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future; and
• Termination is in the best interests of the child.

Can I prevent the other party’s significant other from being around my children?

It is possible to obtain court orders that specify who may or may not be around the children. It is also possible parenting time to occur via supervised visits that limit who is around when your co-parent visits your children. However, these are fact-specific circumstances usually tied to the interest of maintaining a child’s safety.

Can a non-biological parent seek custody of the child in a divorce?

In Kansas and Missouri, non-biological parents may properly seek custody of a child in a divorce under certain circumstances:

• Adoptive Parents: Anyone who has adopted a child has full legal rights to parent that child. A step-parent who adopts a spouses child has equal parental rights to the biological parent with respect to the adopted child. In a divorce, the adoptive parent and the biological parent are on equal footing with respect to custody, visitation, and support.
• Third-Party Custody and Visitation: Third parties may request custody rights when a child’s biological parents cannot properly care for the child.

Kansas statute specifically authorizes step-parents to petition for visitation rights with step-children.

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 bestowed with legal custody, as there is no legal relationship between the father and the child without a marriage or later establishment of paternity and legal custody. Paternity can be established either voluntarily by both parents or by a 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? Can a father take a child away from the mother?

If the parents are married or if paternity has been established, and a court has not determined otherwise, both parents have free and equal access to the child. If there is a court order (including a temporary order) determining custody and parenting time between the parents, the terms of that order control each parents’ access to the child. 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.

Do You Have a Child Custody Lawyer Near Me?

Joseph, Hollander & Craft is located off the corner of 10th & Cherry Street in Kansas City, MO. We are close to the Jackson County Courthouse. We have additional offices in Overland Park, Lawrence, Topeka, and Wichita for your convenience.

Experienced Kansas City Child Custody Lawyers on Your Side

Whether you are going through a divorce, involved in a custody dispute, or need assistance modifying or establishing child custody, our Kansas City child custody attorneys can help. We are here for you in matters of paternity, grandparent rights, and guardianship too. Call or contact Joseph, Hollander & Craft today to reserve a consultation time.