Nothing in this world is more important than our children. Our office realizes that importance and we will help your family through this very tough time.

Our firm has experience handling custody and visitation cases in Virginia Courts and we know what it takes to prepare for a trial or to help reach agreement as to what is in the Best Interest of the children involved.

The Courts in Virginia shall consider the following when deciding Custody:

“In determining custody, the court shall give primary consideration to the best interests of the child. The court shall assure minor children of frequent and continuing contact with both parents, when appropriate, and encourage parents to share in the responsibilities of rearing their children. As between the parents, there shall be no presumption or inference of law in favor of either.

The court shall give due regard to the primacy of the parent-child relationship but may upon a showing by clear and convincing evidence that the best interest of the child would be served thereby award custody or visitation to any other person with a legitimate interest. The court may award joint custody or sole custody.”

Read the entire statute Virginia Code Section 20-124.2

The Virginia Code defines Custody in this way:

"Joint custody" means:

• Joint legal custody where both parents retain joint responsibility for the care and control of the child and joint authority to make decisions concerning the child even though the child's primary residence may be with only one parent.
• Joint physical custody where both parents share physical and custodial care of the child.
• Any combination of joint legal and joint physical custody which the court deems to be in the best interest of the child. "Person with a legitimate interest" shall be broadly construed and includes, but is not limited to grandparents, stepparents, former stepparents, blood relatives and family members provided any such party has intervened in the suit or is otherwise properly before the court. The term shall be broadly construed to accommodate the best interest of the child. A party with a legitimate interest shall not include any person
  • Whose parental rights have been terminated by court order, either voluntarily or involuntarily
  • Whose interest in the child derives from or through a person whose parental rights have been terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily, including but not limited to grandparents, stepparents, former stepparents, blood relatives and family members, if the child subsequently has been legally adopted, except where a final order of adoption is entered pursuant to § 63.2-1241
  • Who has been convicted of a violation of subsection A of § 18.2-61, § 18.2-63, subsection B of § 18.2-366, or an equivalent offense of another state, the United States, or any foreign jurisdiction, when the child who is the subject of the petition was conceived as a result of such violation.

"Sole custody" means that one person retains responsibility for the care and control of a child and has primary authority to make decisions concerning the child.

If you need assistance with Custody or Visitation, we can help you.

Virginia Code Sections:

• Joint Custody, Legitimate Interest, Sole Custody - § 20-124.1.
• Court-ordered custody and visitation arrangements - § 20-124.2.
• Best interests of the child; visitation - § 20-124.3

We also have attorneys with experience working with children as qualified Gaurdian Ad Litems. Our attorneys are available to serve as a GAL for your custody and visitation matters. If you have a need for a GAL in a matter, please let us know.

Child Support:

Often when dealing with Custody there are interrelated matters of Child Support for the children. In Virginia each parent has a responsibility for the care of their children financially. Please click here to go to our page regarding Child Support.

Parent Education Courses: Often when families are in disputes regarding their children they seek help and education from third parties and often benefit from getting that help to get through these tough matters.

In Virginia the courts also require parent education courses in certain contested disputes involving children. If you are in need of information about court-approved courses we offer please visit our parent education courses page.