Rural Hill Divorce Lawyers

Divorce Lawyers in Rural Hill, Tennessee

If you’re thinking about divorce in Rural Hill, Tennessee or if you have received divorce paperwork from your spouse, the divorce lawyers in Rural Hill, Tennessee at Widrig Law, PLLC are here to help you. Our compassionate and caring divorce lawyers understand how stressful divorce can be. We work with you to help you understand your rights with regard to division of property and assets and can help you craft a parenting plan that is in the best interests of your children. The decisions you make right now in your divorce, can impact your life and your children for years to come. It’s important to get this right. Reach out to the divorce lawyers in Rural Hill, Tennessee at Widrig Law, PLLC today.

How Can I File for Divorce in Rural Hill, Tennessee?

To file for divorce in Rural Hill, Tennessee, you’ll need to establish residency in the state and county and submit divorce papers to the county clerk where you or your spouse lives. When submitting divorce paperwork, you and your spouse can file jointly, or one spouse can file for divorce and start the divorce process. You can file together if you and your spouse agree about everything in your divorce, including splitting assets and child custody. Even if you agree about everything, it’s a good idea to speak to a divorce lawyer in Rural Hill, Tennessee like the attorneys at Widrig Law, PLLC. We can review your divorce paperwork, and make sure that you aren’t missing any important details or giving up important rights.

If you file for divorce on your own, you’ll need to request everything you want from your divorce in the petition. This includes proposing how to divide assets, debts, and presenting a proposed parenting plan if you have minor children. You’ll then have to formally serve your partner the divorce paperwork. Next, you’ll have to wait for your partner to respond to the paperwork. They are granted a period of time to review the papers and submit a response.

If you and your spouse cannot agree about everything in your divorce, you’ll have to schedule a court date. The divorce lawyers in Rural Hill, Tennessee at Widrig Law, PLLC can help you take the next steps with your divorce, wherever you are in your divorce journey—whether you’re getting ready to file, have received divorce paperwork, or are working to settle your divorce.

How Does Joint Custody Work in Rural Hill, Tennessee?

In most situations, when child custody disputes go to a judge, the judge will favor joint custody arrangements. Custody often refers to two aspects of child custody. These two aspects are physical custody and legal custody. Legal custody refers to each parent’s right to make legal decisions for their children. This often relates to legal decision-making for the child’s medical care or education. Physical custody refers to where the child lives. The courts tend to favor joint custody arrangements where both parents make legal decisions for their children, and where the children spend time with both parents. This is not to say that some parents choose on their own to make other custody arrangements. If you don’t take your custody case to a judge, you and your spouse can decide to award sole custody or sole decision-making responsibilities to one parent. And if there were issues of domestic violence in your marriage or if you are concerned for your children’s safety due to your partner’s history of violence, then the court might award sole custody to one parent.

There is a great deal of confusion about joint custody. First of all, joint custody is not to be confused with a 50-50 custody split. With a 50-50 split, both parents make an effort to split the time with their children right down the middle. While this arrangement can involve more back and forth between the parents, it allows both parents the opportunity to both have the maximum possible time with their children. Yet, a 50-50 split might not be right for all families. Schedule differences, and other challenges can make a 50-50 split not feasible. Parents can have joint physical custody even if they don’t decide on a 50-50 split. There are a wide range of custody time splitting arrangements, and your child custody lawyer can work with you and your partner to find the arrangement that makes sense for you, your children, and your family. The child custody lawyers in Rural Hill, Tennessee at Widrig Law, PLLC are here to help you find the custody arrangement that works for you and your family.

What if I Don’t Want Joint Custody?

Even if you don’t want to share joint custody with your former partner, it might still be the option that’s in the best interests of your children. If you take your custody battle to court, seeking sole custody without compelling reasons, the judge isn’t likely to give you sole custody unless you have very strong reasons about why your children shouldn’t be with their other parent. In most cases, courts work to preserve the children’s relationship with both parents. This is true even when parents have criminal records, have been to jail, or have other issues.

That said, there are some situations where the courts can be convinced that the reason for sole custody is compelling. Usually these involve situations where there is a credible fear for the children’s safety or where the partner has a history of domestic violence or sexually abusing the children. Another situation where sole custody might be considered is when one parent actively tries to prevent the other parent from having a relationship with the children or takes action to prevent the children from seeing the other parent (often against court orders).

There are joint custody agreements that still involve one parent spending the majority of the time with the children, and couples can work together to find joint custody agreements that work for them.

There is finally one last situation where you can get sole custody. This is where you request sole custody, and your former spouse agrees to sole custody. These situations are rare, but they do happen. If you have questions about your child custody case, and options, reach out to the child custody lawyers in Rural Hill, Tennessee at Widrig Law, PLLC. Our child custody attorneys are here to help you understand the options available and take the next step.

How Can I Contact a Child Custody Lawyer or Divorce Lawyer in Rural Hill, Tennessee?

The child custody and divorce attorneys in Rural Hill, Tennessee at Widrig Law, PLLC can be reached at 615-417-7800. We are here to answer your questions and help you take the next steps. Divorce can be a challenging time, but we are here to stand beside you every step of the way.