Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are sometimes used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent’s duty to care for the child.

Family law proceedings which involve issues of residence and contact often generate the most acrimonious disputes. While many parents cooperate when it comes to sharing their children, not all do. For those that engage in litigation, there seem to be few limits. Court filings quickly fill with mutual accusations by one parent against the other, including sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, brain-washing, parental alienation syndrome, sabotage, and manipulation. It is these infrequent difficult custody battles that make the news and sometimes distort the public’s perceptions so that appear more prevalent than they are and the court’s response appear inadequate.

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Georgia Attorney Client Agreements

Attorney-client agreements lay out some important ground rules and terms and conditions for the attorney and client relationship and before you enter into an attorney client agreement with the attorney, you will want to make sure you understand the agreement before you sign it.

You’re in the attorney’s office and you are about to sign a retainer agreement and enter into an agreement with the attorney, but do you really have a clear understanding of your agreement? Before you enter into any sort of an agreement with the attorney, you would be wise to consider the following points.

(1) Read the attorney-client agreement
(2) Purpose of the agreement
(3) Financial terms of the agreement
 

Read the attorney-client agreement
As trivial as it may sound, it is imperative that you read the entire contract or attorney-client agreement before you sign it. Often times one may feel rushed or feel that the attorney-client agreement is just a standard form that all attorneys use. Although it may be true that the attorney-client agreement may be a common contract, the language in the contract may vary vastly from firm to firm.

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Therefore, it is important that you read the agreement to know exactly what you are agreeing to. Additionally, an attorney should give you as much time as you need to review the contract and answer any questions you may have. Further, you would be wise to get a copy of any agreement you sign before leaving the attorney’s office.

Purpose of the agreement
The attorney-client retainer agreement sets forth the ground rules for the attorney and client relationship. It is also supposed to build good will between the client and attorney. However, this is not always the case. For example, when the attorney-client agreement is not fully explained to you or if it is written unfairly to benefit the attorney, it can create complications and negatively impact the attorney client relationship. Be sure you understand the ground rules of the agreement before you agree to it.

Financial terms and conditions
Be sure you fully understand the financial terms and conditions of the agreement before you sign it. The type of fee agreement may be contingent, hourly, flat, or a mix or combination of each. Other costs such as filing fees, photocopies, mailing and couriers, mileage and travel, parking, and telephone calls should be clarified. If the attorney charges per hour, you will want to review the minimum billing unit or minimum time increments you will be bill for a task.

 
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For example, some agreements may state you will be charged in bill units of .10 of an hour (or 6 minutes) or perhaps .25 of an hour (or 15 minutes). To further illustrate, if an attorney charges $200 an hour and bills in minimum increments of .25 an hour, a task that took an attorney one minute would cost you $50! In general, a bill unit of .10 of an hour (or 6 minutes) is common. The fee agreement should be fair, reasonable, and fully explained to you. If you have questions about the fee agreement, be sure to ask and get clarification before you sign it.

Attorney-client agreements lay out some important ground rules and financial terms and conditions for the attorney and client relationship and before you enter into any sort of an agreement with the attorney, you will want to make sure you understand the agreement and its terms and conditions before you sign it.

2007 Child Custody Coach

 
Steven Carlson is the founder of Child Custody Coach. He is known nationally as The Custody Coach and provides one-on-one coaching services to parents in the field of child custody and divorce issues. He is the author of "How to Win Child Custody and provides support for Custody Match, a Southern California consumer and family law attorney matching service.

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LA Child Custody Lawyers – What are your chances?

Like most states, the standard for child custody determinations in Los Angeles is the overall best interest of the child with an emphasis on assuring the "health, safety, and welfare" of the child and "frequent and continuing contact" with both parents absent child abuse, domestic violence, or where the contact would not be in the best interest of the child as provided in the L.A. California family code section 3011 (See California Family Code Section 3011, 3020, 3040, 3080). Further, according to California family code section 3040, child custody should be granted in an order of preference and according to the best interest of the child.

A common challenge for the court is to decide who will get custody of the child. Child custody in Los Angeles may be petitioned by parents, grandparents, stepparents, or any person who believes they can provide suitable care and guidance to the child. So how does the LA family court or a Los Angeles judge handle competing persons seeking custody of the child? According to California family code section 3040, child custody should be granted in an order of preference and according to the best interest of the child.

 
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Child custody law up for reviewWithin the next two weeks, a state court official must report a study group’s findings to the Legislature on whether Minnesota should change its child custody laws. At issue is whether judges should automatically presume that children split their time living with each of their divorced parents.

The LA court looks first to grant custody to both parents jointly or to either parent before looking to grant custody to other persons. Los Angeles however does not currently establish a preference or a presumption for or against joint custody arrangements. Instead, it allows the California family court or California judge to make the parenting arrangement decision on a case-by-case basis according to what it believes reflects the overall best interest of the child. If neither parent is granted custody, then the court may look towards the person’s home in which the child has been living and the stability of that environment and then to any person deemed by the court to be able to provide appropriate care for the child. In short, the court will typically look to grant child custody first to the parents according the best interest of the child and if they are deemed unfit the court will then look to grant child custody to other persons according to the best interest of the child.

 
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If you are involved in a child custody battle in Los Angeles with the other parent, grandparent, stepparent, or any other person, you would be wise to consult a LA or Hollywood family law attorney to help you learn where you stand legally and what your legal options are with respect to your child custody rights and visitation rights.

Steven Carlson is the founder of Child Custody Coach. He is known nationally as The Custody Coach and provides one-on-one coaching services to parents in the field of child custody and divorce issues. He is the author of "How to Win Child Custody and provides support for Custody Match, a Southern California consumer and family law attorney matching service.

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