Determinations of child custody, now referred to as decision-making ability in parenting, are based on the child’s best interests. Generally, it is considered beneficial to provide a child with as much contact with each parent as possible, unless doing so is not in their best interests for one reason or another.

Parents must agree on whether the children will spend their time primarily with one parent, with the other parent having access/visiting rights to (parenting time with) the children or whether the parents will share time more equally. If the parents cannot agree on how much time the children will spend in each household, the court will impose that decision on them after considering many factors which affect the child’s best interests. These may include the parents’ availability, ability and willingness to care for the children, as well as the parents’ ability and willingness to communicate effectively with one another.

Early advice from an experienced family lawyer will likely save you a great deal of time and money in the long run. Meeting with a family lawyer early in the separation journey will help you understand the process of divorce, property settlement and child arrangements as well as giving you an understanding of different option like mediation/negotiating that you can choose from to resolve your family law matters.

First of all you should record the date of separation as this will be needed for your application for divorce.
It is also advised that you start to organize and gather documentation on all your financial on none financial matters, such as parenting matters.