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Child Custody & Access

Mississauga, Oakville & the GTA

Professional and Experienced Family Lawyers

Child Custody Lawyer in Mississauga

If you and your spouse have agreed to separate or divorce, custody and access rights to your children must be addressed. These are vital issues as they will determine how much time you get to spend with your children and how much influence you have over important decisions in their lives. For these reasons, you need capable legal counsel to help you navigate such complicated issues.

Rose Family Law can provide the legal representation parents need to secure a favourable custody and access agreement. Although judges decide these matters based upon the best interest of the child, demonstrating that one has the means to provide safety, care, and comfort to a child is integral to this process. Rest assured that our experienced child custody and access lawyer in Mississauga, Ontario can help you seek what’s most important to you when it comes to your role in your child’s life.

For more information, contact Rose Family Law online or call (905) 367-0134 now.

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What Is Child Custody?

Child custody is the right to make important decisions concerning a child’s care and upbringing. Parents with custody rights to their children can make decisions about how their children are educated, what kind of medical treatment they receive, and which religion or faith they will follow.

It’s not uncommon for parents to disagree on these types of issues, but only parents with custody have the authority to follow through on decisions. In most cases, the parent with the most custody to a child usually lives with the child, too.

Types of Child Custody

In Ontario, there are three types of custody:

  • Sole Custody, which is a situation where one parent has complete custody over their child while the other may only have access. Parents with sole custody have the authority to make all important decisions about how to raise their children; the parent with access but no custody retains no legal right to make these decisions.
  • Joint Custody, which is a situation where both parents share rights and responsibilities for raising their child, despite living apart. Joint custody is more concerned with which parent has the authority to make decisions about a child’s life than it is about how much time each parent has with their children. Joint custody often provides each parent the ability to make certain important decisions for their children and may only be ordered if a judge believes that the parents can work out disagreements.
  • Temporary Custody is often ordered when a divorce, legal separation, or another legal issue is ongoing. If parents can’t agree on how to split time with their children on their own, then temporary custody may be ordered until a legal matter is resolved. It’s important to note that a temporary custody order won’t necessarily resemble the judge’s final decision on child custody.

Our child custody and access lawyer in Mississauga understands that custody is a key issue for most parents when it comes to their divorce or legal separation. Reach out to our firm today to learn more about how we can help!

What Is Access?

Access refers to the non-custodial parent’s right to spend time with their child, and thus the child’s right to spend time with that parent. Although parents with access typically have no legal authority to make important decisions for their children, the courts recognize the importance of maintaining the parent-child bond as long as that bond is in the child’s best interest.

Access agreements can provide scheduled visits or time with a child, which may occur in a public setting or in the non-custodial parent’s home. They can also provide the non-custodial parent with the right to know important information about the child’s education, health, and welfare.

How Do the Courts Decide Custody & Access?

Although it’s common for parents to believe that custody and access to their children are about their interests, the court is more concerned about what’s in a child’s best interest. In fact, virtually all decisions concerning children in family law matters are motivated by what a judge believes is in the child’s best interest.

A few of the factors that the courts use to evaluate a child’s best interest include the following:

  • The child’s emotional tie to any individual seeking custody or access
  • The child’s wishes (when the child is mature enough to express them)
  • How long a child has been in a home and how stable that home is
  • Each parent’s willingness and ability to provide physical and emotional care
  • Each parent’s plan for the upbringing of their child
  • Each parent’s ability to provide permanence and stability
  • The biological or adoptive relationship between a child and anyone seeking custody or access
  • Which parent has been most responsible for parenting duties up until this point

Do You Need Legal Help?

Take a step toward protecting your presence and role in your child’s life by reaching out to Rose Family Law for help. Our child custody and access lawyer in Mississauga can provide you with the representation necessary to adequately demonstrate that your child benefits from your presence and care.

Our Practice Areas

Divorce & Separation​

While obtaining a divorce can be straightforward, a court order is always required. Sometimes, people agree to issues like custody and support on their own and only apply to the court to obtain a divorce. Those cases, called uncontested divorces, take a relatively short amount of time and cost relatively little.

Custody & Access

Custody technically means the legal responsibility to make decisions for the child related to health, education and religion. Access is the right to be with the child at a given time. The basic issues that revolve around custody are: who will make the primary decisions relating to the child and who the child will live with.

Child Support

Common law spouses are often awarded less spousal support or are given support for a shorter duration than married spouses. The factors that affect entitlement to support and the amount of support are generally the same between married and common law spouses. Your lawyer will best be able to help you determine how much support you can claim.

Property Division

When a couple separates, the assets accumulated during the marriage must be classified as family assets, business assets or individual assets. Family assets must be divided equally between the two partners unless it would be unfair to do so. Often, people require legal representation to identify and divide the family assets, especially if the divorce is contested and or complex.

Marriage Contracts

Common law spouses can obtain the same rights as married spouses by preparing and executing a cohabitation agreement. A cohabitation or marriage agreement is a written document where the parties to the agreement can provide for division of property, support or any other matter upon death or the termination of the relationship.

Court Proceedings

Litigation is a traditional method of resolving Family Law disputes. It provides parties with a decision by a Family Court Judge about custody of children, access/time with and support for their children, spousal support for themselves and their property. Our litigation lawyers can commence a court application for you or defend you when you have been served with court documentation.

Mediation & Arbitration

When a couple separates, the assets accumulated during the marriage must be classified as family assets, business assets or individual assets. Family assets must be divided equally between the two partners unless it would be unfair to do so. Often, people require legal representation to identify and divide the family assets, especially if the divorce or separation is contested and or complex.

Separation Agreements

Common law spouses can obtain the exact same rights as married spouses by preparing and executing a cohabitation / marriage agreement. A cohabitation or marriage agreement is a written document where the parties to the agreement can provide for division of property, support or any other matter upon death or the termination of the relationship.

Spousal Support

Litigation is a traditional method of resolving Family Law disputes. It provides parties with a decision by a Family Court Judge about custody of children, access/time with and support for their children, spousal support for themselves and their property. Our litigation lawyers can commence a court application for you or defend you when you have been served with court documentation.

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What Our Client's Say

“Malerie is a great lawyer who truly cared about my divorce and my well being. I would recommend her to anyone looking for a divorce lawyer in Mississauga.”
Former Client
Mississauga
“Excellent lawyer. Very responsive to emails, evening during the evening and she was very tough, but fair during our proceedings.”
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