Tag: <span>Child Visitation</span>

Visitation Schedules

March 15, 2022February 25, 2022
by Briana White

Between school and work schedules, the modern family has a lot going on. As a result, even when both parents are qualified, it’s not always possible for California courts to split a child’s time fifty/fifty.

When this happens, the court will sometimes choose a primary residence for the child, and award the non-resident parent ample visitation.

Visitation comes in several types and can be either scheduled or not. This important parental right ensures both parents have time to cultivate a meaningful relationship with their child and to influence how they’re raised.

Here’s what you need to know about visitation schedules in California, and what Maples Family Law can do to help you figure out the plan that’s right for your family.

What is Visitation?

Visitation is a critical part of child custody, and refers to the allotted parenting time given to a non-custodial parent. This in-person time is critical to maintaining parental rights, and ensures both parents have access to their child.

When visitation is planned in advance, this is called a visitation schedule. Visitation schedules can be as detailed or flexible as parents can handle; some need everything planned out, while others work better on an as-needed basis.

Visitation—whether scheduled or not—is only really applicable in situations where one parent is assigned sole physical custody. If both parents have their child for an equal (or close to) amount of time, this is called joint custody.

In California, all custody decisions—including visitation—will be determined, according to a child’s best interest.

Figuring Out the Visitation That’s Best for Your Child

The best interest of the child is a legal standard that makes a child’s long-term health and wellbeing the driving force behind every decision made.

When applied to custody and visitation, the court will weigh a number of different individualized facts, and choose the outcome that will serve your child best.

Some of these considerations include:

The child’s age;
The child’s health;
The child’s relationship with each parent;
The child’s ties to school, home, and community;
Each parent’s ability to care for the child; and,
Any history of family violence or substance abuse.

Judges are also free to consider any other tidbits they think might be relevant to this decision—though, we should point that, that a parent’s wishes will never be one of those morsels.

Types of Visitation

Like with everything else in family law, visitation isn’t a one size fits all situation. Families are each unique, and thus, each will need an arrangement tailored to their child’s unique needs.

To accommodate all these varying needs, California family law offers four main types of visitation. These include:

Scheduled Visitation
Reasonable Visitation
Supervised Visitation
No Visitation

Here’s a closer look at each of these, and when you might use one over the other during a custody dispute.

1. Scheduled Visitation

When people think of visitation, scheduled visitation is usually what comes to mind. In this arrangement, a child’s time with each parent is planned out—often in fairly significant detail.

Often, this calendar often will include information about:

The dates and times with each parent;
Drop off times and locations;
Where the child will spend major holidays;
Who gets the child on birthdays;
School schedules, summer holidays, and family vacations; as well as,
Directions for how special events will be handled.

Contrary to popular belief, parents do not have to use the court in order to get a scheduled visitation. Parents are always free to make their own parenting plan, and can tailor it to meet their family’s specific needs. If you can’t, though, then the court will draft one for you.

This is usually done using a standard visitation schedule as a starting point. These standard schedules come in a variety of different formats, such as alternating weeks, every other weekend, and even age appropriate schedules, depending on the child’s needs. (For example, a daytime only schedule for a newborn baby.)

Scheduled visitation is often preferred over other types of visitation, since both parents know what to expect. This helps them to avoid conflict, and provides children with a set routine. However, not all parents like the rigidity of a scheduled arrangement, which is why some choose our next option.

2. Reasonable Visitation

Unlike scheduled visitation, reasonable visitation does not try to plan everything out. Instead, parents agree to allow the other a “reasonable” amount of time with the child, and get to decide—on their own—what, exactly, that means.

Reasonable visitation is essentially an open-ended, “fly by the seat of your pants” arrangement, and offers families a lot of benefits. Like flexibility, and ongoing communication. Because of this, they work particularly well for amicable divorces, unmarried parents, and those with unpredictable work schedules. However, it’s definitely not for everyone.

With no structure in place—or, even a definition of what “reasonable” might be—this type of visitation can easily lead to disagreements, requiring parents to head back to court again, later on down the road.

3. Supervised Visitation

In a supervised visitation arrangement, a parent’s time with their child is chaperoned. This can be done either by a neutral third party (such as a family friend or family member), or, in some cases, may require a paid professional (such a social worker).

Judges usually require supervised visitation, when the health and safety of the child are in question. Sometimes, this is because of domestic violence. Other times, the court might be worried about mental illness, substance abuse, or even, parental abduction. However, supervised visitation doesn’t always mean you’ve done something bad.

Supervised visitation is also used to help parent and child ease into a relationship, if the two haven’t seen each other in a long time.

4. No Visitation

And finally, there’s our least commonly used type of visitation: no visitation.

We say “least commonly used,” here, because parental rights are pretty dang important in California. Hence, in order for the court to completely restrict a parent’s access to their child, the threat of harm has to be fairly significant.

This is usually implemented in cases of known domestic violence, where the threat of physical and/or emotional harm still exists. In California, the court will not put a child in danger just to uphold a parent’s right to access. That being said, keep in mind that you (as a parent) don’t get to make that call.

In California, parents are not allowed to withhold visitation for any reason. Doing so could put your own parental rights at risk, and prompt the court to reevaluate your custody order.

If you believe your child is in danger, then you should call the authorities. Afterwards, talk to your family law attorney about filing a formal case.

Do You Need Help with a Visitation Schedule in California?

As a divorced or unmarried parent, your allotted parenting time is a critical part of establishing and maintaining a relationship with your child. That’s why it’s so important to have the right attorney fighting for your rights during a custody dispute.

If you have more questions about visitation schedules in California, and how one might work in your situation, we want to hear from you. Call the Maples Family Law team at (209) 989-4425, or get in touch online, and let us fight for the arrangement that’s in your child’s best interest.

family-law

Unmarried Parents in CA

September 24, 2021
by Briana White

Divorce and custody go together about as often as peanut butter and jelly. Hence, it’s easy to see why parental rights and marital rights sometimes get mixed up.

But—just like you don’t have to pair peanut butter with jelly—you also don’t have to be married to be a parent. Which is why parental rights are kept completely separate from the marriage relationship.

Hence, whether you are married, divorced, widowed, partnered, single, or unmarried, parents everywhere have the same rights and responsibilities to their child, regardless of relationship status. That being said, unmarried parents may still face some additional hurdles, when it comes to child custody.

Here are some of the most common questions that arise for unmarried parents in California, and how the Maples Family Law team can help you navigate these challenges.

Presumption of Parenthood

We meant what we said in our intro about parental rights: all California parents have the same parental rights and obligations, regardless of relationship status.

But if that’s true, you might be wondering, then why do unmarried parents in California face additional challenges?

The primary reason that unmarried parents are in this conundrum is because of California’s presumption of parenthood, which assumes that any child born into a marriage is the legal offspring of the individuals in that marriage.

This presumption is great, if you’re a legally married couple, because it allows you to automatically assume the mantel of parenthood (and all of its accompanying rights and responsibilities) without any hoopla. However, there are two main instances when the parenthood presumption falls short:

When both parents are unmarried.
When one parent is married, and the other is not (a.k.a.: adultery).

In both of these instances, California’s presumption of parenthood either wrongly presumes who the parents are, or simply fails to cover one half of the duo, altogether.

Because of this, unmarried parents may have a few more hoops to jump through, in order to establish themselves as legal parents—however, this does not mean that the rights of unmarried parents are any different.

The Rights of Unmarried Parents

Whether adopted or biological, the job of a parent comes with a lot of authority, decision-making power, and responsibility over a child. This authority is what’s roughly defined as child custody, which is divided into two main categories:

Legal Custody—the right to make decisions on behalf of your child, and to determine how they will be raised.
Physical Custody—the right to see your child, spend time with them, and have them live in your home.

These parental rights are given a lot of deference by California courts, and—whether you are married or unmarried—they will not be taken away unless it’s absolutely necessary for a child’s best interest.

However, because the presumption of parenthood falls short, unmarried parents will need to establish themselves as a child’s legal parent, before they are able to exercise these rights.

Establishing Parentage

The nature of the birthing process doesn’t leave a lot of room for doubt as to who a child’s mother is. Hence, a birth mother is automatically considered a child’s legal parent—with full legal power and parental authority—as soon as her child is born.

Unmarried fathers, on the other hand, are not given this automatic presumption, unless they have already been living with their partner in a family-type setting prior to birth. If not, however, the unmarried father will be unable to claim rights to things like custody or visitation until they are recognized by the court as a legal parent.

This can be done one of two ways:

By mutual consent of the parents, upon the child’s birth.
Through a court trial.

Here’s a closer look.

1. Consent at Birth

The easiest way to establish paternity is for both unmarried parents to sign a Declaration of Parentage, upon their child’s birth.

If this form is completed before you leave the hospital, then an unmarried father can be included on their child’s birth certificate right from the get-go. However, this declaration can also be signed later on—even after the birth certificate has been issued—so long as it is voluntarily executed by both parents.

In the event that an unmarried mother refuses to recognize her child’s father, or, if the father does not want to take responsibility for their child, then things will need to be settled in court. Which brings us to the second method of establishing parentage.

2. Court Contested Parentage

The second way to establish parentage is through a judge.

This is obviously a more complex (not to mention emotional) method of establishing parentage. On the bright side, however, these days it is also a fairly straightforward process, thanks to DNA testing.

In California, either a mother or a father can file a parentage case, so long as they meet California’s six months residency requirement, and can show that they have a valid claim.

Typically, the court will respond to these petitions by ordering a non-invasive DNA test (or, in other words, a mouth swab). Refusing to take this test is usually considered an admission of guilt, and the court will assign parentage, accordingly.

Keep in mind, however, that you can’t take the perks of parenthood without the responsibilities. If the court determines that you are, in fact, a child’s legal parent, then you will be responsible for more than just playtime and decision making—you’ll also be on the line for your child’s care, too, which will likely include child support.

Once this parentage is legally established, both parents will need to draft a parenting plan, which will organize your respective rights and duties as co-parents.

California’s Third Parent Law

Historically, same sex couples have faced a lot of problems in the areas of parentage and child custody. This is because—even when they are legally married—it’s impossible for both spouses to be their child’s biological parent.

Because of this, the presumption of parenthood is inherently prejudiced towards them, acting as a barrier to legitimate parents, who are unable to assume parental rights upon their child’s birth.

The problem is, of course, how do you extend these rights to same sex parents, without accidently infringing on the rights of a birth mother (who may not want to give up her rights, altogether)?

Thankfully, California legislatures are working hard to address these issues, and in 2013 they adopted a groundbreaking “Third Parent Law.” Under this new rule, three, gender neutral parent lines are now provided on a child’s birth certificate, allowing a birth mother to retain her rights, while also giving committed, same sex couples and spouses full parenting rights immediately upon their child’s birth.

Unmarried Parents Attorneys in California

Whether you’re a peanut butter and jelly couple, a single condiment parent, or some other kind of sandwich, altogether, parental rights are the same, regardless of your relationship status.

Hence, if you’re an unmarried parent in California, and have more questions about the rights and obligations of you and your child’s other parent, we want to hear from you. Call the Maples team at (209) 989-4425, or get in touch online, and let us help ensure your child’s best interests are being met.

Child Custody

Virtual Visitation

May 18, 2021
by Briana White

As a parent, one of the most difficult aspects of divorce is suddenly having to share time with your child. This can be particularly excruciating, if you are a non-custodial parent, who no longer gets to live under the same roof as your child.

As a non-custodial parent, daily communication used to be something you didn’t think about. Nowadays, building a relationship with your child is contingent on being able to maintain a meaningful visitation schedule, which can be difficult, even in the best of circumstances. (Impossible, under the worst—thanks for that, COVID.) And this is before you even consider the unique challenges that families with international custody, traveling careers, and military obligations face.

Lucky for us, we live a time of unprecedented technology, where communication is no longer limited to in-person contact. In certain situations, these virtual tools can be incorporated into your custody agreement, to help supplement your parenting time.

What is Virtual Visitation?

In order to understand exactly what virtual visitation is, it’s important to first have at least a basic understanding of how California courts handle custody.

Custody refers to the broad range of parental rights and responsibilities that have to be divided when parents get a divorce. To this end, the court can divide custody by either giving all the power to one parent (sole custody), or making them share (joint custody). Since it’s nearly impossible to split a child’s time exactly fifty-fifty, the court will then typically make one spouse the child’s primary residence, while the other is awarded ample visitation.

Visitation, then, is essentially all that time a non-custodial parent gets to spend with their child. And for a really long time, that’s all it was: in person contact. Visitation either happened physically, or it didn’t happen at all.

Luckily, the past decades have moved us well beyond our Neanderthal ways, and when it comes to visitation, non-custodial parents are no longer quite so constrained by physical limitations. With a huge variety of technological advances at our fingertips, the parent/child relationship can be strengthened virtually, as well.

Hence, virtual visitation is defined as any parent/child contact that is facilitated through the use of technology.

Examples of Virtual Visitation

Virtual visitation’s broad definition encompasses a wide range of platforms and tools, and isn’t limited to just phone calls. Instead, parents have a wide variety of options, including:

Phone calls and text messaging;
Data plan facetime;
Webcams and online video chats;
Email and instant messaging;
Online gaming;
Private document sharing sites, such as Dropbox and Google Drive;
Photo sharing sites, such as Shutterfly, Flickr, and Picasa; and,
Social media posts, personal messaging, and sharing, through platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok.

With virtual visitation, a parent can help with homework, read a bedtime story, share the excitement of a special achievement, “attend” a performance, and offer emotional support, even if they can’t be there in person.

Virtual Visitation Laws in California

Virtual visitation is still a relatively new concept, and there are currently only a few states with official legislation that address it, including Utah, Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, North Carolina, and Florida. As you can see, California isn’t one of them, but in our ever-expanding world of global interaction, it may be only a matter of time.

That being said, whatever your judge includes in your custody order is enforceable by law—including any kind of electronic communication. California courts routinely include virtual visitation as a part of custody orders, and the failure of either party to uphold these important terms can result in fines, a loss of custody, and in some situations, contempt of court.

During divorce or custody modification, parents can either mutually agree to include virtual visitation in their parenting plan, or else request that the court include it in the final order. In these situations, your judge would assess your circumstances to see if electronic communication is a viable option for your family.

When Does the Court Allow Virtual Visitation?

The 2020 COVID pandemic threw the world into the kind of crisis most people probably never even thought to consider, let alone worry about. As lockdowns, travel bans and mandatory quarantines forced global markets to a halt, California legislators were forced to weigh the risk of spreading the disease against the need for visitation.

This crisis resulted in a sudden, unexpected reliance on virtual visitation, which most divorced families took part of in some way. However, long before COVID became a household word, electronic communication was already being used by California courts to supplement in-person visits.

Virtual visitation is particularly useful for cases involving international custody, military custody, move away requests, and even extended business trips, for parents whose careers require frequent travel.

Guidelines for Virtual Visitation

Since electronic communication isn’t officially part of California family law, judges don’t have a specific set of criteria or formula they can apply to these situations.

Instead, the court analyzes what would be in the child’s best interest, and loosely considers whether parents:

Will permit and encourage their child to engage in virtual visits;
Have the tools to facilitate their child’s visits;
Are capable of carving out the necessary time; and, of course,
Whether each has the emotional bandwidth to allow their child to have uncensored communication with the other.

The court is unlikely to grant e-communication in situations of abuse or domestic violence, or when supervised visitation is required. And, as a whole, virtual visitation is most successful for parents who can set aside differences and work harmoniously with one another.

All that aside, if the COVID pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that while virtual visitation can be a vital tool in certain situations, it’s certainly no replacement for in-person contact.

The Drawbacks of Virtual Visitation

For parents who are limited by time, distance, or obligation, virtual visitation opens up an array of opportunities for them to maintain contact with their child. However, this technology has also drawn criticism from those who argue that e-communication is a poor substitute for in person face time.

Some of the arguments against virtual visitation include:

The negative impact of too much screen time on a child;
The burden it could place on a child’s already busy schedule;
The burden it places on a parent’s time and resource; and,
The ineffective, two-dimensional nature of e-communication (for instance, how easy it is to misread context and tone).

As California legislators consider whether or not to standardize virtual visitation in family law, they’ll need to examine some of these legitimate drawbacks, and analyze whether these technologies hinder—rather than actually help—parents and children foster deep, meaningful relationships.

They are also drawbacks that you should discuss with your family law attorney, if you and your spouse are considering making virtual visitation a part of your parenting plan.

Virtual Visitation Attorneys in California

If you have more questions about virtual visitation, and whether it’s appropriate for your situation, we want to hear from you. Call the Maples team at (209) 989-4425, or get in touch online, and let us help you figure out the visitation arrangement that will work best for your family.

Divorce

What Does “Best Interests of the Child” Mean in…

July 31, 2017January 17, 2019
by Angie

Child custody cases in California typically revolve around the “best interests of the child.”

But what does that mean, and how does a judge who doesn’t know your family determine what’s in your children’s best interests?

What Does “Best Interests of the Child” Mean in California Courts?

When parents can’t agree on child custody on their own or through mediation, the judge in the case will have to reach a solution that works for everyone involved—but the judge’s primary concern is the child.

In a typical custody agreement, both parents have some time with the child; they share custody. It’s usually the amount of time each parent gets that trips everyone up, and that’s often where the judge has to step in.

How Judges Determine Child Custody in Stockton and Other California Jurisdictions

Both parents have equal rights to custody under the law, and judges can’t give preference to one parent over the other simply based on his or her gender.

When a judge must determine custody, he or she has to remember two things:

The children’s health, safety, and welfare is the court’s primary concern
Kids benefit from frequent, continuing contact with both of their parents

As long as the judge bears those two things in mind, he or she can consider any factor relevant to parenting.

Children’s Health and Safety in Custody Decisions

When a judge makes a decision on child custody, he or she has to consider factors that may affect the child’s health and safety. There are legal issues in some cases, such as when one parent has committed first-degree murder of the child’s other parent, or has been convicted of some types of physical or sexual child abuse (in those cases, judges are prohibited from granting custody or unsupervised visitation to that parent).

When Judges Can Limit Custody and Visitation

Judges can also limit custody and visitation when one parent has engaged in child abuse (or partner abuse), even if that abuse hasn’t resulted in a court conviction, provided that an independent and reliable source verifies that it has happened. Drug use and alcohol abuse are other factors that may relate to children’s health and safety, so judges can limit custody and visitation if they’re present, as well.

Does the Child’s Preference Matter in Custody Cases?

The law requires courts to consider a child’s preference when the child is mature enough to make an intelligent choice. There’s no specific age listed in the law, but typically, courts are more willing to listen to a child’s preferences when he or she is older and more mature. (A six-year-old’s preference may not carry as much weight as a 16-year-old’s preference will.)

Probability of Parental Alienation and Interference With Healthy Relationships

A judge must consider which parent is more likely to encourage a healthy relationship with the child’s other parent. Because judges have to remember that kids benefit from good relationships with both parents, this is a valid concern—and if there’s a probability of some form of parental alienation or interference with the other parent’s relationship with the child (or if it’s already happened), the court may restrict custody or visitation.

Which Parent Can Provide Stability and Continuity?

Judges prefer to keep kids’ lives as stable as possible, and that includes evaluating established patterns of care and the emotional bonds children share with their primary caretakers. Typically, judges keep siblings together unless there are extraordinary circumstances that make it necessary to separate them, as well.

Do You Need to Talk to a Stockton Child Custody Attorney?

If you’re contemplating divorce or you need help fighting for custody of your children, it may be a good idea to get in touch with an experienced child custody lawyer in Stockton. We can also answer your questions about child support, spousal support (alimony), and the divorce process in general.

Call us at 209-910-9865 or get in touch with us online for a divorce case evaluation. We’ll talk about your situation and start developing a strategy that gets you—and your kids—the best possible outcome.

Child Custody

Dividing the Child: Should Children be Involved in their…

May 5, 2016May 24, 2020
by Dr. Thomas Maples

Current California law requires the courts to give due weight to the wishes of a child who is 14 years of age or older regarding their custody and visitation arrangements if that child is shown to be of “sufficient age and capacity to form an intelligent preference as to custody or visitation.” However, AB 2098, currently under consideration by the state legislature, will move the age of decision making capacity from 14 to 10 years of age if it is passed.

This bill, commencing July 1, 2017, would instead require the court to permit a child who is 10 years of age or older, of his or her own volition, to address the court regarding custody or visitation, unless the court determines that doing so is not in the child’s best interests. The bill would require the court to determine whether the child is addressing the court of his or her own volition and to provide the child with an age-appropriate form developed by the Judicial Council that explains to the child specified information prior to the child addressing the court regarding custody or visitation. The bill, commencing January 1, 2017, would require the Judicial Council, no later than July 1, 2017, to develop this age-appropriate form (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2098)

On a practical level, this bill may sound promising at first. Why shouldn’t children have the capacity to choose the parent with whom they want to live? Why shouldn’t they be in control of the visitation arrangements they will be subjected to take part in as they learn to form independently operating relationships with either or both parents of their choosing? It is their life, is it not! Shouldn’t it be their choice?

Children are ultimately the ones who are subjected to the will of a third party, whose decision will ultimately affect the course of their academic, social, and familial future until the time they are 18. Unfortunately in today’s arena of highly contested divorces and custody conflicts, it is the children who are placed in the middle of the family conflict that is forever dividing the landscape they were born too. While it used to be common ground to tell children, “it is not your fault,” regarding the division of their family tree, now the state legislature and the judicial officers will be placing the capacity, no the responsibility to decide as to what parent they will lose: Oops, I mean which parent they will choose, even though both parents are ultimately at fault for their childish inability to take that same child’s best interest into account. A child simply must have the answer of what is in their best interest: Right. Or do they?

At first sight, this seems to be a progressive step towards children’s rights. From a purely philosophical perspective, it would seem to grant children the rights to exercise judgment under the guise of free will. However, from a practical perspective, can a child be expected to house this burden of choice, where an audience with the judge “will” come with a heavy price tag, one they may not be able to shoulder as the repercussions of their decision immediately takes form as a final order is rendered by the court. What emotional repercussion will take place for this child, and at what expense will their development be affected due the decision made to choose one parent over the other? Is a child 10 years of age even capable of making a decision of this magnitude? From a developmental perspective, the answer is clearly, NO!

From a developmental perspective, a child 10 years of age is in a socially awkward stage of life. This stage of development is commonly called latency. During latent development, a child has mastered core concepts of survival during infancy through early childhood, and can effectively care for themselves in a limited, but highly dependent manner. They remain dependent on their parents, even though either / or both parents may be unable or even unwilling to find the middle ground when it comes to the emotional, developmental, and spiritual needs of the child they fight so vehemently for within a custody dispute. This is especially difficult for a child of this age, who not only knows of the physical and emotional dependence they have on their parents, but concurrently lacks the cognitive capacity to formulate a multifaceted approaches to understanding the specific ramifications an either / or decision such as custody determination or visitation arrangements will have on their personal development. Children of this age, simply cannot think beyond the either or perspective enough to understand the consequences associated with their decision.

The idea of allowing a 10 year old a voice to choose custody preference or visitation arrangements becomes even more flawed when viewed from a psychosocial or a cognitive developmental lens. During their latent development, a period of childhood that begins roughly at 6 and lasts until 12 years of age, a child becomes more keenly aware of their personal strengths and weaknesses. This is especially true in areas of social, educational, and familial expectations. Values are passed on during this time, and these are linked not only to educational and social expectations, but specific values the nuclear family finds important to pass on to their offspring. During latent development, a child develops the capacity to see things from a “concrete operational perspective,” can reason about objects and simple relationships between them, but lacks the capacity to entertain multifaceted hypothetical scenarios common to abstract thought (Newman & Newman, 2003). While children may have the capacity to focus on relationships among adjoining or related ideas, they lack the capacity to see how draw inference as to how these ideas can related to other areas of life. In order to complete this form of complex thought process, a child must develop the capacity to abstractly reason, a developmental task that does not occur until mid adolescence.

Because children lack the capacity to form multifaceted, complex ideas around the ways either / or decisions can affect a variety of other factors that occur within their life, they are often seen to make rash decisions, which ultimately can be based upon the ulterior volition of one parent, where the will (whim) of the child can and ultimately will sabotage what is in their best psychological interest. From a cognitive perspective a child is unable to understand the brevity of the decision they are forced to make, regardless of a form they have been given to complete may imply.

Form a psychosocial perspective, a child during latency Must learn age appropriate social, familial, and occupational expectations. It is during this stage that a child needs his or her parents the most. Despite the division that occurs during the divorce process, the more perspectives a child receives regarding values and ethics formation, the better equipped they are to enter and model the complex thought capacities needed to form abstract ideals about the world in which they live.

A child during latency is said to enter a psychosocial crisis of industry versus inferiority. They learn social industry during this stage of development, which is inclusive of family values and / or expectations. If a child fails to engage appropriately in social industry development, the begin to lack the self esteem needed to push on towards further avenues of success. This oftentimes stands as the catalyst for future self-esteem problems that form the basis for numerous mental health disorders seen in early adolescence and early adult life.

Childhood is a special time where they must learn ways to appropriately interact with the environment that they not only live within but will eventually make their mark upon. Pushing children to grow up too quickly is never a good idea, expecting them to make decisions they are simply incapable of is a poor choice not only for the children, but also the courts who would implement this law, and the state legislature that is imposing a parameter on a population that cannot meet the expectation given. This is a bad idea. Not only from a psychological and developmental perspective, where the child who was once sheltered from the atrocities played out in family court will now be exposed and offered a voice as to what is the best of the two worst case scenarios.

If you’d like to get more information, or if you’re ready to speak to an attorney, please contact Maples Family Law.