Protecting what truly matters — your children.

When the core makeup of a family unit changes through divorce or separation, one of the biggest challenges is determining child custody and parenting time. No parent wants to feel helpless when it comes to their freedom to have a relationship with their children, which is why choosing skilled, compassionate legal representation to advocate for your rights is of utmost importance.

Legal and Physical Custody in New Jersey

As you start navigating your child custody and parenting time issues, it's important to understand the different types of custody and the standard that New Jersey Courts use to make this determination. Child custody in New Jersey is based upon the statute Title 9, which provides that custody determinations are to be based upon the best interests of the children. There are two different components of custody in New Jersey, legal custody and physical custody:

• Legal custody pertains to a parent's ability to make major life decisions for their child, such as decisions regarding medical care, educational decisions, religious upbringing and general safety and welfare. In most cases, parents are afforded joint legal custody;

• Physical or residential custody is a term used to explain who has physical custody (i.e. where a child resides) and who primarily provides for the child’s needs on a day- to- day basis. In cases where one parent is granted sole physical custody, the other parent generally receives parenting time. There are also cases in which physical custody is shared between both parents, which is called shared or joint custody.

Whichever parent houses the children a majority of the time is called the "custodial" parent, while the other parent is the "noncustodial" parent. Custodial parents gain certain benefits, such as head-of-household tax breaks, that noncustodial parents don't receive.

During custody and parenting time disputes, parents can either work together to draft a parenting plan, rely on the mediation program with the family court to develop one on their behalf or litigate these issues through the family court which usually requires the involvement of a custody expert. The parenting plan details how the parents share physical and legal custody during the school year and summer vacation, over holidays. In addition, it establishes behavioral boundaries and parenting guidelines the parents must abide by.

Modifying & Enforcing Custody

Circumstances may arise that require a child custody agreement to be modified or enforced. For example, as a custodial parent, you may need to request a modification of your custody order because you need to relocate for work. As the non-custodial parent, you may need to ask the court to enforce a custody order if the custodial parent is wrongfully barring you from seeing your children.

At Fraser Family Law Office, we become your dedicated partner in navigating your child custody matter from start to final resolution. Georgia Fraser, Esq. has settled and litigated child custody cases for over 25 years and has acted as a mediator on hundreds of mediation cases in her role as a certified mediator.

Our goal is to remove fear from your custody and parenting time experience so you can focus on finding the ideal solution for you and your children, whether through settlement-oriented negotiations, mediation or ultimately litigation. Put the future of your loved ones in our hands and know that while today might feel difficult, a bright tomorrow, in which your children are surrounded by trust and support, is around the corner.

Want to learn more about your options for child custody and parenting time? Contact us online or call Fraser Family Law Office, LLC, 609-223-2099 to schedule an appointment with an experienced family law attorney today.

Serving all of Central New Jersey: Mercer County (including Princeton, West Windsor, East Windsor, Lawrenceville, Hamilton Township, Trenton, Robbinsville, Hopewell Township, Pennington, and Hightstown), Somerset County, Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County and Ocean County.

We Assist clients with:

• Physical custody (who the children reside with)

• Legal custody (who makes healthcare and welfare decisions)

• Parenting plan development

• Modification of custody or parenting time plans

• Trial use of custody evaluations and expert witness

• Issues of neglect or abuse, including drug, alcohol, physical and sexual

• Interstate custody disputes (UCCJEA) and international child abduction