Parenting Time Lawyer in Michigan

In most divorces, the issues of child custody, visitation and parenting time are among the foremost concerns of parents.

Understandably, a parent wants to spend as much time as possible with their children and remain a constant presence in their lives. Parenting plans ensure that children continue to have strong and consistent relationships with both parents despite the end of the marriage.

At the law office of Bailey & Terranova, we are committed to helping our clients understand the legal implications of their custody and parenting time plans. Our attorneys educate clients on their rights and help them make informed decisions about which legal options will best protect their future with their children. Our firm understands Michigan family law, the court system, and how to effectively address any child custody or parenting plan issues moving forward. Our parenting time attorneys help establish sound parenting plans and always take care to manage the following topics:

Holidays and birthdays
Summers and school breaks
Disabled parents or special needs children
Domicile change or out-of-state relocation

As families change, parenting time arrangements may require adjustment to reflect the evolving needs of both parents and children. For example, a parent once living farther way may move closer and, by doing so, impact visiting time frames and possible child support expenses. We provide dedicated assistance with all post-judgment issues.

The 12 “Best Interests of the Child” Factors in Michigan

Every decision made by Michigan Courts regarding child custody and the parenting time schedule is driven by one overarching principle: the best interests of the child. This principle is not subjective; it is codified in Michigan Law and requires the judge to evaluate twelve specific best interest factors (often referred to as the “twelve factors”) before issuing any custody decisions or parenting time arrangements. For any parenting time lawyer in Michigan, a successful strategy depends entirely on building a case that meticulously addresses each of these points.

These twelve interest factors serve as the foundation for determining both legal custody (who makes major life decisions) and physical custody (where the child spends time). The court is required to consider all twelve factors holistically, and no single factor is automatically given more weight than another, except for Factor (k) concerning domestic violence.

The factors assessed include:

Emotional Ties: The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing between the parties involved and the child.
Guidance and Religion: The capacity of one or both parents to provide love, affection, guidance, and continue the education and raising of the child in his or her religion or creed.
Material Needs: The ability of one or both parents to provide food, clothing, medical care, or other remedial care recognized under the law, and other material needs.
Stability: The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment, and the desirability of maintaining continuity.
Permanence: The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home.
Moral Fitness: The moral fitness of the parties involved.
Health: The mental and physical health of the parties involved.
Child’s Record: The child’s home, child’s school, and community record.
Preference: The reasonable preference of the child, if the court considers the child to be of sufficient age to express a preference.
Co-Parenting: The willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent.
Domestic Violence: Evidence of domestic violence, regardless of whether the child witnessed it.
Other Factors: Any other relevant factors considered by the court to be relevant to a particular child custody dispute.

If you are seeking sole custody, joint custody, or a specific parenting time plan, your legal team must gather clear and convincing evidence that demonstrates your capacity to meet these factors better than the other parent. Successfully navigating these best interest factors is essential not just for child custody, but also for establishing a meaningful parenting time schedule that promotes the child’s well-being and ensures you can exercise parenting time fully.

Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mediation and Arbitration for Parenting Plans

While the adversarial court process is always available for resolving a child custody dispute, many Michigan families find that Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods like mediation and arbitration offer a more constructive, private, and cost-effective path to developing a functional parenting time plan. Instead of relying on a judge to make life-altering custody decisions, ADR empowers one or both parents to maintain control over the future of their family.

Mediation is the most common form of ADR in Michigan Law. In this process, parents meet with a trained, neutral third-party mediator who helps facilitate communication and negotiation. The mediator does not make decisions but guides the parties involved toward a mutually acceptable custody agreement and parenting time schedule. Because parents design the parenting time arrangements themselves, they are significantly more likely to comply with the final parenting time agreements, which promotes a positive and continuing parent-child relationship. Mediation is mandatory in many Michigan Courts for custody matters unless safety concerns, like domestic violence, are present.

Arbitration is another effective method, though it is more formal. In arbitration, you and the other parent agree to present the unresolved issues to a private arbitrator, often an experienced family law attorney or former judge, who acts like a private judge. The arbitrator hears evidence and issues a binding decision on the custody and parenting time issues. Arbitration offers a fast resolution and is a confidential alternative to a public trial. When our law firm advises clients on child custody and parenting time in Michigan, we thoroughly explore both mediation and arbitration as powerful tools to achieve a fair settlement that focuses exclusively on the interests of the child without the expense and emotional toll of a lengthy court battle. Our parenting time lawyer in Michigan will help you choose the method best suited for your child custody case.

Help Enforce Custody and Visitation Arrangements

If one parent refuses to release a child for parenting time or care for them as defined in the divorce decree, immediate legal action is required to protect the best interests of the child and the rights of the compliant parent. Fathers are commonly victimized in these types of situations and mistakenly believe that writing letters to the court will help. Many times, an immediate request to the court to hold the non-compliant spouse in contempt is the best alternative. As members of the American Divorce Association for Men (ADAM), we protect the rights of fathers and can help them aggressively enforce child custody and parenting time orders. Please note that recent changes in Michigan law regarding child support payment calculations have made the issue of visitation/parenting plans a potentially major dispute among divorcing couples. We will explain these changes and how they apply to your situation.

Like many families around the country, Michigan families are now more mobile than ever. Relocations for better employment or due to remarriage have become commonplace. However, a custodial parent may not move children more than 100 miles within the state or relocate out of state without first receiving permission from the court. Any failure to do so can result in serious consequences, including a negative impact on existing child custody and parenting plans. When considering any relocation, a parent should strongly contemplate retaining the services of a skilled and knowledgeable attorney. For experienced legal assistance with relocations and domicile changes, trust your concerns to the lawyers at Bailey & Terranova. We offer clients throughout Central Michigan over 60 years of combined experience in sensitive family law matters. Contact us to discuss your move-away / relocation issues with a dedicated custody and residency changes attorney.

Supervised Parenting Time: When Safety is the Primary Concern

The foundation of Michigan Law is the presumption that a child spends time with both parents, allowing them to exercise reasonable parenting time that promotes a strong relationship. However, this fundamental right is superseded by the absolute necessity of ensuring the children’s safety. If there is clear and convincing evidence that unrestricted contact with one parent would endanger the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health, the court may limit access to supervised parenting time or, in the most extreme cases, deny visitation rights entirely.

Supervised parenting time is a highly restrictive measure ordered only when a parent’s capacity to care for the child is compromised by serious issues. These reasons include: documented patterns of domestic violence (even if not directed at the child), substance abuse, mental and physical health issues that interfere with parental function, or credible threats of abduction (threatened or actual detention of the child). In these sensitive custody matters, the parenting time lawyer in Michigan representing the child’s best interests will advocate for supervision by a qualified third person or an approved agency.

There are different levels of supervision, ranging from a trusted family member being present (third-party supervision) to visits occurring in a controlled environment like a professional domestic violence shelter or supervised visitation schedule center. The supervised arrangement is generally intended to be temporary, with the expectation that the restricted parent will undergo counseling, treatment, or rehabilitation to address the concerns. If a parent repeatedly fails to adhere to the restrictions or if they have frequently failed to exercise parenting time without proper cause, the court may make the restrictions permanent. Our legal team is dedicated to protecting the child’s well-being, whether that involves aggressively pursuing sole physical custody with restricted parenting time for the other parent or defending a client’s right to unsupervised visits when the evidence does not support such a restriction.

Child Custody Affecting Your Relocation Options

The best interests of the child drive court decisions regarding requests for changes in residency. In general, a custodial parent cannot move more than 100 miles away from the non-custodial spouse or out of state without first obtaining court permission.

If the move will jeopardize the relationship of either parent with the child, the court is likely to deny the relocation. When seeking a post-judgment modification involving changes to the child’s living arrangements, our firm will take the time to explain and address all of the important issues, including:

How residency changes impact child custody
Military-related concerns
Remarriages and moves out of state
Domicile changes under the “100-mile rule” / Relocation in Michigan

Whether you should file for a change of custody or simply modify your existing parenting time depends on the specifics of the divorce agreement and your individual relocation needs. Don’t put your rights and the best interests of your child at risk. Our attentive lawyers will help you understand your rights and obligations under the law.