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Reston, VA Child Custody Lawyer

Dedicated Family Lawyer for Negotiating Child Custody Arrangements in Reston

Your children depend on you and your co-parent for care, guidance, love, and support. Their need for both parents does not end with a divorce or separation. Making child custody arrangements is often difficult, as you split your focus between your children's needs and your parental rights. When you are trying to navigate these issues, you need a family law attorney who is looking out for the best interests of both you and your children.

Nicole M. Burns, Attorney at Law is dedicated to understanding your unique needs and goals. With over 15 years of experience, Attorney Nicole Burns is uniquely qualified to handle issues of family law, approaching each case with confidence. You can trust our firm to prioritize your children's well-being as we work side by side to determine their future through tailored child custody arrangements.

Physical Custody Arrangements

When caught up in the emotional turmoil associated with separation or divorce, some parents attempt to use their children as pawns to get their way. Others let their own animosity toward the other parent cloud their judgment. The fact is, child custody decisions are about what serves your children's best interests, not yours.

Most children can benefit from maintaining a healthy relationship with both of their parents. Unless you can prove the other parent is unfit, that means your children will probably be spending time with your co-parent and away from you.

Children also need stability after a divorce or separation. A parental separation or divorce is already exposing your children to disruption, but we will work hard to help you minimize it. One way to do that is to ensure that your children can contact their other parent through phone or video calls outside the visitation schedule. Another is to develop a creative visitation schedule that keeps you and your co-parent as involved as possible in your children's lives. However, constantly shuttling your children between households may not be the best solution.

It is very important to focus on your children's unique needs. At Nicole M. Burns, Attorney at Law, we can help you negotiate for an effective, long-term physical custody arrangement that accounts for your family's circumstances.

Legal Custody in Virginia

Along with physical custody and visitation, you also need to reach an agreement about legal custody over your child. This grants one or both parents the authority to make major decisions on behalf of the child, such as education, religion, and healthcare choices. As with physical custody, this is ultimately based on the child's best interests.

Our family law attorney can advocate for you in out-of-court negotiations to decide how legal custody should be assigned between you and your co-parent. However, if you cannot reach an agreement through negotiation, we can also present your case to a judge.

Reaching Child Custody Agreements in Virginia

You could choose to take your child custody dispute to trial. If that is your decision, you will benefit from our extensive litigation experience. However, you are relinquishing control over the outcome to the court. It is also more difficult to be cordial and cooperative co-parents after a court custody battle.

At Nicole M. Burns, Attorney at Law, we are firm believers in the collaborative law approach to resolving child custody disagreements. Using this method, your respective attorneys will help you negotiate terms until you find a mutually agreeable solution. Mediation is another alternative to litigation, where a third party helps each side reach common ground by focusing on the contested issues rather than emotions. Both of these options typically cost less and are faster than a trial.

Special Considerations in Northern Virginia Child Custody Matters

We provide skillful representation for all child custody issues, including:

Whatever your situation, you can count on our unwavering support and thoughtful guidance at every step.

Call Our Reston, Virginia Child Custody Lawyer

Nicole M. Burns, Attorney at Law provides dedicated counsel and representation for parents going through issues of family law. To request an appointment with our Reston, VA child custody attorney, call our offices at 703-373-4761 or contact us online.

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