Practice Areas
Child Custody Attorneys
Overview
Child custody is really two questions. One is who and how are the major decisions made in a child’s life, and the other is where the child lives from day to day. Most parents arrive thinking of custody as a single question, and separating the two usually makes the conversation easier.
Eris Law Group’s child custody attorneys help parents in Virginia and Washington, D.C., build parenting arrangements through negotiation, mediation, the collaborative divorce process, or litigation when necessary. The goal is a plan that fits the family’s actual week, with school, work, and the child’s activities built in. A plan like that tends to last longer and be more durable than a judge’s court order that sends both parents back to court every few months.
How Custody Is Decided
Custody decisions in Virginia and D.C. focus on the best interests of the child, and neither jurisdiction favors either mothers or fathers. Most parents reach an agreement without resorting to litigation.
The factors apply to both legal custody and physical custody.
Legal Custody vs. Physical Custody
Legal custody is authority over major decisions such as school, medical care, and religious upbringing, and joint legal custody is common. Physical custody is where the child actually lives and on what schedule. The two do not have to match, so parents can share legal custody even when the child spends most nights in one home. This makes terms like joint custody or shared custody confusing and imprecise even though they are often used conversationally.
Custody and support decisions affect your family for years. Get clear answers on where you stand before you file.
Talk to a Family Law AttorneyVirginia’s Best-Interest Factors
Virginia courts weigh 10 statutory factors, including the child’s age and developmental needs, each parent’s relationship with the child, the child’s ties to siblings and extended family, and each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent. One factor looks at the role each parent has played and will play in raising the child. That factor measures caregiving and involvement rather than income, so a parent who worked full time is not at a disadvantage for that reason alone.
How Washington, D.C., Approaches Custody
Washington, D.C., presumes that shared custody serves the child’s best interests, and a parent seeking sole custody has to rebut that presumption with evidence. Virginia has no joint custody presumption and weighs its factors from a neutral start, so the same family can begin from a different place depending on which side of the Potomac they live.
Parenting Schedules Courts Actually See
Parenting schedules in regular use include week on, week off 7-7; 2-2-3 and 5-2-2-5 rotations; and alternating weekends with a midweek evening or overnight. The right fit depends on the child’s age, where the child goes to school, and the realistic drive between homes. A schedule that looks balanced on paper but ignores a 45-minute commute on school mornings is less likely to survive the school year.
Our Process:
How We Work Together
Step 1: The Strategy Session
The initial consultation starts with what the client wants the child’s week to look like. The attorney reviews the current arrangement, each parent’s schedule and constraints, and what the client is trying to protect, then gives a realistic read on cost and the likely path. For most matters our attorneys work on an hourly basis so the retainer is based on an estimate of the initial work and each attorney’s hourly rate is made clear.
Step 2: Custom Drafting & Review
The parenting plan is drafted around the family’s real logistics, including holidays, exchanges, travel, and communication between households. Drafts are reviewed electronically, and the client can request changes before anything is finalized.
Step 3: Implementation & Support
Once the agreement is signed or the court enters the order, each parent should keep a copy and treat it as the rulebook for exchanges, holidays, and disagreements. Parents can agree to swap a weekend without going to court, but the written order still controls, so a change that becomes permanent belongs in a modified order. When the schedule stops working, renegotiating usually comes first. If that fails, a Virginia court will modify custody only when circumstances have materially changed and the new arrangement serves the best interests of the child.
Meet Our Attorneys
Why Choose Eris Law Group for Custody?
Our family law rates are published, and the attorney gives a straight assessment of which disagreements are worth taking to a judge, since contested custody can become expensive quickly. Samantha Lebling handles complex custody matters in the firm’s family law practice.
We regularly work with families facing complex custody questions, including children with special needs, blended and LGBTQIA+ families, and military and federal families whose schedules change with little notice.
Trusted. Recognized. Respected.
Frequently Asked Questions About Child Custody
Legal custody is who makes major decisions, and physical custody is where your child sleeps. You can share legal custody even when your child spends most nights at one home.
No age hands the decision to your child. In Virginia, a court weighs a child’s reasonable preference when the child is mature enough to express one, as one factor among many.
Virginia’s guidelines start with both parents’ incomes and add health insurance and work-related childcare costs. When each parent has the child more than 90 days a year, a shared custody formula applies. Courts can deviate from the guideline amount.
Virginia custody orders require 30 days’ written notice to the court and the other parent before a move. A move that affects the other parent’s time usually needs agreement or court approval, and the court focuses on how the move affects your child rather than on your reasons for moving.
Keep a record of missed exchanges and other violations. Your attorney can ask the court for a rule to show cause, which can lead to a contempt finding and sanctions.
Build a Parenting Plan That Holds Up
A parenting plan should still work next school year, when the child is older, schedules have shifted, and the new arrangement is no longer new. Eris Law Group builds parenting plans with that in mind, with the goal of keeping families out of court after the order is entered.