Child Custody

For most divorcing parents, or for separating but never married parents, the most important issues are those of child custody, residency and parenting time. The parents worry about the well being of their children and how they may be affected by the divorce or separation. I, Darrell Smith, am a veteran child custody lawyer. I work hard for you, first to protect your legal rights and secondly to help you have the ability to co-parent your child with the other parent after the divorce.

The Kansas courts usually award both parents joint legal custody – the right to make major decisions, such as for example, the education, religion, health care and activities in a child’s life.

Therefore, the most contentious issues usually concern the residency and support of the child. Will the child reside primarily with the mother, primarily with the father, or will the child reside with each parent about half of the time (“shared residency”)? What are the financial and emotional consequences of these various residency choices?

If the parents can cooperate and respect each other and can respect the child’s right to have an ongoing relationship with the other parent, the issues of residency and support can often be resolved through negotiation or collaboration. Collaborative law is a relatively new approach to resolving family law and child custody issues through a series of 4-way meetings with the two parents and their respective attorneys.

If negotiation or collaboration is not appropriate in a particular case, then the issues must be resolved in court. Darrell Smith is also an experienced litigator and strong advocate with a record of success at trial.

Having earned a reputation as tough yet reasonable, you can be assured that Darrell Smith will be your advocate in the courtroom as he works to protect your rights and the interest of your children.