Guiding You Through The Divorce Process

Skilled Child Custody Lawyers Working For You

Parents have many misconceptions about how custody and parenting plans are developed in San Diego, North County and throughout California. The first and overriding principal when approaching these challenges is to keep the best interests of your child or children in mind, for they often pay the price of emotional and expensive child custody legal battles.

At Andrew P. Johnson, APC, our attorneys are highly experienced and have a successful track record for clients across Vista. Andrew P. Johnson, Esq., is an experienced and effective counselor in resolving child custody visitation and parenting plan issues. Matt Cord, Esq., is a trained and certified minor’s counsel. This means that he can be appointed by a court to represent the children in high conflict divorce and custody cases.

What Happens In Child Custody Cases?

Child custody focuses on the rights of both parents to make important decisions regarding a child, including:

  • Religion
  • Education
  • Health care
  • Extracurricular activities

The laws of the state of California presume that it is best for a child’s parents to make these decisions together. There are extreme cases where physical and sexual abuse, alcohol and drug addictions, and severe personality disorders can affect custody and parenting plans. However, in most cases, the court is interested in making sure that the child maintains a life schedule that most closely reflects their experience before the divorce.

It is valuable to have the guidance and experience of a proven child custody and parenting plan lawyer who can suggest many options to help you resolve areas of disagreement effectively and affordably.

Would You Prefer To Control Your Parenting Plan Outcome Or Have A Stranger Impose One Upon You?

The stark reality is this: If you and your spouse are unable to work together to put the interests of your child or children first and resolve custody and parenting plan issues, then the court will do it for you. A total stranger will decide how your child’s life will progress from here, and how you as a parent will participate in their life. Newly enacted California legislation allows children to testify in open court on a routine basis. This is a painful and often traumatic experience, and it places the child in an awkward and potentially harmful position emotionally.

Our lawyers understand that it is almost always in the best interests of the children and the parents when the couple works together to find the right solution for their unique circumstances. Every family has a different rhythm and pattern of activities to take into account. Balancing time with each parent while building a framework that can grow with the children is at the core of an effective parenting plan.

Who Gets The Child In The Divorce?

This is not an easy question to answer. Our attorneys are not interested in adding to the tension that exists between parents, and they do not believe in expensive custody battles for the sake of generating legal fees. They work closely with our clients to gain a genuine understanding of their lives and those of the children. Our lawyers provide our clients with skill-building tools and help them resolve genuine and substantive areas of disagreement with the other parent whenever possible. The process of successfully working through these issues to develop an effective child custody and parenting plan can lay the foundation for a cooperative working relationship between the parents for the months and years to come.

In some cases, the parents have opposite points of view about what is best for their children. Our lawyers have the experience to handle these highly conflicted cases as well.

Get A Free Consultation

For an initial consultation with our experienced Vista Certified Family Law Specialist (CFLS) or another member of our team, contact us today by phone at 760-278-3262 or by email. Our lawyers will work with you to help resolve issues surrounding child custody and the establishment of a parenting plan so that you and your children can move forward with life.