How Can Parents Best Support a Special Needs Child During a Custody Dispute?

Child custody battles are tough on everyone, but kids often suffer the most. If you’re fighting for custody of your child, you’re probably worried about how it will affect them. This worry gets even bigger when your child has special needs. These kids need extra care, both in daily life and during legal battles.

If you’re dealing with this difficult situation, a child custody lawyer in Orange County can help. At Minyard Morris, formed over 48 years ago and having over 350 years of combined legal experience, we know how to handle cases involving special needs children and can guide you through the process while protecting your and your family’s interests.

Your Child’s Special Needs

The category of special needs covers a wide range of physical and mental health concerns and developmental issues – as well as educational, emotional, and health needs. Your child may have a specific special need or may have a constellation of such needs, but each comes with its own specific requirements in terms of the care and attention the child requires.

A child with special needs has conditions that interfere to a significant degree with the child’s ability to perform the primary activities of life without assistance. To address your child’s special needs in your child custody dispute, it’s important to clarify these needs and how they should be addressed relative to their ability to live a full, healthy, and satisfying life.

Legal Considerations Related to Your Child’s Special Needs

California child custody laws provide a framework through which courts can determine child custody matters for children with special needs. Factors addressed include the following:

• Ensuring that the child experiences continuity of care
• Ensuring that the child receives the medical care and therapeutic services they require
• Ensuring that each parent is capable of adequately addressing the child’s special needs

In those custody cases that involve a child with special needs, a specialized care plan that is specific to the unique child’s unique needs is required. Often this translates to involving professionals in the field of special education as well as medical and mental health professionals, and their contributions can play a significant role in the outcome of the child custody case.

Your Child’s Best Interests

One of the most important points to keep in mind as you move through your child custody dispute is that you and your child’s other parent both want what’s best for them. While your approaches may be different, the underlying intent on both sides is almost certainly your child’s best interests, which is also the State of California’s focus.

This overriding goal becomes an even weightier concern when the child in question has special needs. The best interest factors that California courts carefully consider in custody cases involving children with special needs include all the following:

• The level of care the child requires
• The kind of care the child requires
• The care regime the child currently has
• Each parent’s ability, desire, and commitment to keep up with the child’s current care
• Each parent’s ability to maintain a living environment for the child that is both stable and supportive

If one of you has been far more involved in caring for your child with special needs on a day-to-day basis, even if you’re both capable and committed to doing so, it can support that parent taking on the primary custodial role while the other parent has a visitation schedule. This is often a function of maintaining continuity for the child.

If one of you is clearly better positioned and better suited to providing your child with the care and support they need, they are also more likely to be assigned the role of primary custodial parent. Visitation in this context will also be determined in accordance with the child’s best interests, which include maintaining a rich and rewarding relationship with both parents and spending a significant amount of time with both parents  – to the extent possible.

Moving Forward through the Child Custody Case

If you and your ex can’t find a middle ground regarding your child custody dispute, you’ll need the court’s intervention on the matter. Letting go of your right to make primary decisions on behalf of your child with special needs can be exceptionally difficult, but if it’s your only option, it’s important to be prepared. The degree to which each of the following will affect the outcome of your case can’t be overstated:

• The testimony of professionals in relevant fields
• A carefully considered specialized care plan that was created specifically for your child with special needs

Additional factors that can make a serious difference in how your child custody case is resolved include all the following:

• Your desire to be the best co-parent you can be and your ability to project this to the court
• Your commitment to fostering your child’s close, ongoing relationship with their other parent and your ability to project this to the court
• Your unwavering commitment to your child’s health and well-being and your ability to project this to the court

Your Child Is Likely Hurting Now

While you may be focused on resolving this custody dispute, it’s crucial to remember that your child with special needs is experiencing emotional turmoil. Taking steps to alleviate their stress and emotional pain is essential. Reassure them that the custody battle is an adult issue and that both parents’ love for them remains unwavering. Consider finding a counselor who specializes in working with children with special needs to provide additional support during this challenging time.

An Experienced Orange County Child Custody Attorney Can Help

The compassionate Orange County child custody attorneys at Minyard Morris recognize how challenging child custody cases are generally, and we appreciate the degree to which having a child with special needs involved can amplify the emotional and legal concerns you face. We have the experience and legal savvy to help, so please don’t wait to contact or call us at 949-724-1111 for more information today.