Types of Child Custody in Nashville, TN

Understanding your options after divorce or separation

Reaching an arrangement that works for both parents while still preserving the best interests of the child can take a great deal of thought and negotiation. When one parent is concerned about the other’s effect on the children’s safety and well-being, or when one parent unfairly tries to shut the other out of the children’s lives, court intervention frequently becomes necessary. In our 50+ years of cumulative experience as attorneys, we at Miller Upshaw Family Law, PLLC have seen how all types of child custody issues play out. We use this experience to advise our clients in Nashville of the results they can expect and to construct compelling arguments should litigation become necessary.

General types of child custody arrangements

While every child custody arrangement should be tailored to meet the needs of the involved parties, there are essentially three general types of child custody:

• Full custody — In cases in which there are concerns about one parent’s commitment, fitness or ability to care for the children, the other parent may be successful in obtaining full custody. Under this type of arrangement, the children live with the custodial parent full time. The noncustodial parent may still have the right to short-term visitation with the children, which may be supervised if there are concerns about the children’s safety.

• Joint custody — In most cases, there is a presumption that children benefit from having sustained contact with both of their natural parents. For this reason, joint custody is the most common custody arrangement. Even here, however; custody is rarely a true 50/50 split. One parent is the primary residential parent with whom the children spend most of his or her time and the other is the alternate residential parent with whom the children live for set intervals. The details of joint custody must be established through a court-approved parenting plan or otherwise imposed by court order.

• Visitation — When one parent has full custody, the other parent usually still has a right to visitation. This is fairly more common in unwed custody cases involving fathers who had limited initial contact with their children or in cases in which there are concerns about either parent’s ability to care for the children.

We can help you resolve your child custody issues in Nashville

With extensive experience in all types of child custody cases, our attorneys at Miller Upshaw Family Law, PLLC help parents throughout the Nashville area resolve child custody issues through negotiated, court-approved parenting plans and court-imposed resolutions after litigation. In historic Edgefield, our Downtown Nashville offices are within sight of the courthouse with easy access to free parking. Call us today at 615-391-4200 or contact us online to schedule an in-person or video consultation with an experienced attorney.