Aggressively Fighting for Your Child's Best Interests

Attorney Laura Eckstein is passionate about being a strong voice for children involved in divorce and custody cases. Our firm thrives on our ability to provide dedicated legal advocacy that fights for the individual needs of our clients. No case is the same, and we strive to treat you and your loved ones as we would wish to be treated in a similar situation.

 

Types of Child Custody

In Oregon, child custody refers to the legal rights and responsibilities involved in raising a child and making major decisions in that child's life. These decisions include education, living situations, health care, religious upbringing, and more.

 

There are several types of child custody:

• Physical custody: This just means that you have the child under your care at a certain time and are responsible for making basic decisions during that time. Oregon usually regulates this via a parenting plan.

• Sole legal custody: This means that one parent takes primary legal responsibility for making major decisions about how the child will be raised. While the other parent should be consulted, the parent with sole legal custody will have the final say. In some cases, the court will review these decisions to determine whether they are in the child's best interests.

• Joint legal custody: Oregon typically does not favor this kind of custody. It means that both parents must consult and agree on major decisions concerning the child. Since both parents must agree, this is a delicate situation. A disagreement can easily lead to one parent gaining sole custody.

• Split legal custody: In rare situations, split legal custody can be determined. This means that siblings might be under the sole custody of different parents.

 

What Factors Affect Child Custody Decision in Oregon?

When the court has to make a decision concerning child custody, it must take many factors into account. Ultimately, the child's best interests are what inform these decisions.

 

A judge may take the following factors into consideration, and more:

• Any history of abuse by the parents

• The child's preference (if over the age of 12)

• The child's relationships with family members

• The primary caregiver's fitness to care for the child

• One parent's willingness to include the other parent

• The parent's relationships with, and interests in the child