The Italian Child Custody

Child maintenance and custody constitutes one of the main issues arising from a separation or divorce case. In particular, different expectations continually arise in terms of what a shared or sole custody regime is and what the responsibilities or consequences of a child custody regime are.

Italian Child Custody regime is governed by Law no. 54/2006, Law no. 219/2012 and Legislative Decree no. 154/ 2013. In the context of Italian divorce procedures, to date the concept of parental responsibility has replaced the old parental authority. In this sense, parental responsibility is the new framework according to which parents’ responsibilities are established and evaluated.

According to Italian Family Law, there are two different child custody regimes: the sole child custody and the joint child custody. While the sole child custody regime grants the full custody to one of the parents, the joint custody provides for a shared custody between the two parents. Anyway, in the context of the sole custody, the custodial parent has the right to exert a full parental responsibility.

The fundamental aspect that Courts shall take into consideration when it comes to evaluate criteria and requirement for child custody regimes are:

• The minor and parents’ mental and physical health, age and sex;
• The emotional bond between the child and the parents;
• The minor’s preference (if he/she is above the age of 12);
• The parents’ lifestyle;
• The parents’ ability to take care of the child.

VGS family lawyers have a recognised expertise in dealing with arrangement and negotiation in the context of child custody regime. VGS family team is specialised in advising foreign clients on Italian divorce, judicial separation and child support procedures. Within such context, VGS professionals are a team of Italian family lawyers able to provide a wide range of services related to both child custody and separation procedures. Indeed, the number of issues that may arise from a child custody dispute proves that the assistance of professional and dedicated lawyers is paramount. Actually, VGS lawyers are able to provide assistance in relation to guardianship orders, cohabitation issues and property disputes.

When VGS professionals deal with a child custody case, they are perfectly aware about the distressing situation spouses may encounter. But they are also aware of the stress and discomfort children can experience during this procedure and, for this reason, they do their utmost to respect the child’s best interests.

VGS professionals are able to assist clients of different nationalities. In details, when dealing with child custody disputes, the key issue is to decide which parent a child will live with. In such scenario, VGS family lawyers are aware that factors considered here include:

• The child’s own wishes and feelings;
• The child’s emotional, physical and educational needs;
• The potential effects on the child of any changes in circumstances;
• Parents’ ability of looking after the child’s needs

Based on those aspects, VGS lawyers’ expertise lies on the ability of its professionals to pursue the best interest of the child while maintaining a constructive relationship between spouses, if possible.

VGS family lawyers believes that in such delicate issue where families’ feelings are involved, negotiations and agreements should replace litigiousness and judicial hearing. For this reason, VGS Family Professionals are specialised in Collaborative Divorce Proceeding schemes introduced in Italy by the Legislative Decree 2014/1323. According to this Decree, the “assisted negotiation” entered as a compulsory requirement for separation and divorce proceedings in Italy also involving children.

Within such assisted negotiation framework, VGS professionals will assist you in drafting detailed arrangements for child custody, focusing on children daily routine and what is best for them. Concerning the assisted negotiation framework, VGS professionals do not believe to the “win or lose” mindset that a judicial hearing might generate. On the contrary, their first objective is considering the best interest of the child and the fact that such interest should condition parents plans.

In general, child custody disputes require professional sensitivity toward both parents and their children. In this sense, VGS professionals have already demonstrated their capacity to understand parents and children needs.

In the event you are looking for more information about VGS Lawyer’s service please contact us at info@vgslawyers.com