Child Custody and Visitation Attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota
What are the biggest challenges you face in handling a custody dispute?
What are the biggest challenges you face in handling a custody dispute?
More In This Category
View Transcript
the biggest challenge is the conflict
between the parents
and the more adversarial the parents are
the more difficult
child custody cases are to resolve the
more controversial there are the more
resistant one of the parents is to
coming up with
a parenting plan and parenting time in
custody in the best interests of both
the children the more likely that
there’s going to be a trial
it’s more likely that you’re going to be
doing discovery
and
when that
kind of
course of action when that kind of case
management pattern comes up
there are other tools that we often have
to engage that can be very expensive for
instance
we have custody and parenting time
evaluations
and these are
studies done by a consulting sociologist
or psychologist
who will
do extensive research they will observe
the children with both parents in both
parents care they will visit
each a parent’s home they will speak to
the teachers they will speak to the
doctors if there are psychologists
involved they’ll speak to them
they will do exhaustive research talking
to to friends of the family even and
other family members to try to drill
down and see what the real circumstances
and facts are regarding um
the history of the each parent’s
involvement in the child and and their
ability to parent
sometimes there there might even be a
custody and parenting time evaluator
might order a psychological evaluation
of one or both of the parents if there’s
a suspicion of chemical dependency they
will order
what’s called a rule 25 chemical
dependency assessment
and
they will also order uh hair follicle
tests and fingernail tests to see if
that parent is is using
so
those types of
of consulting arrangements come into
play they’re very expensive and they
take time if your child custody case
is very contentious it could take
a very long time to get a final
resolution
now fortunately
there are temporary emotions
so i’ll give you an example of a case i
just had uh there was um
a couple of
parents
uh they had a child between them they
were never married the existing
parenting time was
equal parenting time
all of a sudden
the mother who was not my client decided
that father really shouldn’t be seeing
the child that much and started
withholding parenting time we went to
mediation
uh mediation didn’t resolve it the
opposing counsel advised her client not
to accept the the agreements that were
proposed
and so we had to file a temporary motion
we filed a temporary motion and within
two months of the mediation we were
before a judge and the judge
looked at all the facts looked at all
the allegations of
of
interference with medical care medical
treatment issues with the father’s house
my client’s house
and
we filed very detailed pleadings
and after a brief conversation with the
judge the judge
ordered equal parenting time
so even though we don’t have a final
disposition within two or three months
this father is back to ground one ground
zero where he started out having equal
parenting time with his son and i’m very
confident that if this case goes to
trial which now in light of that ruling
it may not
we’ll be able to keep that order in
place
and of course
the court ordered one of those custom
custody and parenting time evaluations
that i talked about before and so that’s
going to be the next step of the process
but meanwhile there is a way to get to
see your children pretty early on in a
case if somebody is keeping them away
from you
Minneapolis, MN family law attorney Michael Fink talks about the biggest challenges faced in handling a custody dispute. He states that the biggest challenge in child custody cases is the conflict between the parents. The more adversarial the parents are, the harder it is to resolve custody issues, develop a parenting plan, and make decisions in the best interests of the children. Highly contentious cases are more likely to require discovery and proceed to trial.
In such situations, additional tools may be necessary, though they can be expensive. For example, custody and parenting time evaluations are often conducted by consulting sociologists or psychologists. These evaluators observe the children with both parents, visit each parent’s home, interview teachers, doctors, psychologists, friends, and family members, and thoroughly examine each parent’s involvement and ability to care for the child. If there are concerns about substance abuse, evaluators may order psychological testing, chemical dependency assessments (such as a Rule 25 evaluation), or even hair and fingernail tests. These procedures take time and add significant cost to the case, meaning contentious custody disputes can take months or even longer to reach a final resolution.
He shares a recent example: his client, a father, had equal parenting time with his child, but the mother suddenly began withholding access. Mediation failed because the mother’s attorney advised her not to accept the proposed agreement. A temporary motion was filed, and within two months, the judge reviewed the detailed pleadings, including allegations of interference with medical care and concerns about the father’s home. The judge restored equal parenting time.
Although a full custody evaluation was ordered as the next step, the father was able to see his child relatively quickly despite the dispute. He emphasizes that even in contentious cases, there are ways to secure early access to children while the broader process unfolds.
