CHILD CUSTODY & PARENTAGE
The purpose of child custody cases is to determine parental rights and obligations to the parties' child. Whether the child was from marriage or a child between an unmarried couple, the child is not ‘property’ and must be treated with dignity. When parental rights and visitation are in question, Kyle is there to help you through that process whether you are the mother or the father. Every situation is different—there are great parents who simply disagree with one another, there are good parents, and there are bad parents. Some parents have little to no business being involved in their children’s lives, yet there is a stark contrast when one parent wants to be involved, and the other will do anything to stop that from happening. Kyle’s goal is to reassure and guide you through the child custody process so that you can reach your goals.
For fathers, many fathers are put in a tricky position when they have a child outside of marriage. In Minnesota, the mother of the child automatically has all legal and physical custody rights when the child is born, while the father is left without either, except for a presumed amount of parenting time, typically between 20-30% of overnights in a given month (every other weekend, and a weekday every two weeks is typical). Unfortunately for fathers, unless the mother will agree to sign a parenting and custody agreement outside of court, the father’s only option is to motion the court for legal and/or physical custody, or both. It can be a tenuous process to gain custody where common sense may not feel like it applies, because why should the father not get to be involved in the child's life? Kyle takes pride in accomplishing that goal so that his clients are of sound mind that the matter will be taken care of, and that they do not have to spend every waking second worrying that they will not see the child whom they love.
For mothers, it is typical to feel that she is the appropriate caregiver for the child. Especially in cases where the father shows negative behavioral characteristics, such as physical, mental, emotional abuse, that the mother rightfully believes the child’s best interests would not be best served by having regular involvement with the child. Kyle understands this—there are great fathers, bad fathers, and fathers somewhere in-between. He is here to protect your legal and physical custody rights for the betterment of that child as the child grows from a young age into adulthood.