Connecticut Family Law Firm Focuses on Child Custody and Support

Mystic, CT Family Law Attorney Protects the Best Interests of Children

Some of the most sensitive issues in a divorce involve child custody and support. As a family law attorney, Bruce A. Chamberlain helps clients navigate family court and work out an arrangement for child custody that will be in the best interests of your family, and especially your children.

Child Custody

By law, Connecticut family courts have the discretion to grant joint, sole, or third party custody. Although the statutes dictating child custody in Connecticut tend to favor joint custody that gives both parents access to a child, any parent can file for sole custody, although courts will typically only order it when it is deemed to be in the best interests of the child.

Some of the factors considered in custody decisions include:

  • The child’s needs and each parent’s ability to meet them
  • The child’s as well as each parent’s preference
  • The child’s past and current relationship with each parent
  • Each parent’s willingness to promote a relationship between the child and the non-custodial parent
  • The child’s cultural background
  • Any history of child abuse or domestic violence on the part of either parent
  • Either parent’s participation in a parenting education program
  • The mental and physical health of all parties involved

Child Support

In Connecticut, you must have a court order to receive child support. A court order for child support establishes the monetary support order for the children and makes other provisions, such as health insurance and childcare. Even if the non-custodial parent is willing to sign a voluntary agreement to pay child support, the court must approve the agreement.

The Connecticut Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines are state regulations which provide a mathematical formula to set the child support payment amount. The Guidelines use the combined income of the mother and the father and the number of children to set a child support amount.

Contact a Mystic, Connecticut Child Custody and Support Law Firm Today

Bruce A. Chamberlain has more than two decades of experience dealing with Connecticut divorce issues, particularly child custody and support. Contact our firm online or call (860) 440-2846 to schedule your consultation today.