Committed. Compassionate. Respected. Responsive.

Committed. Compassionate. Respected. Responsive.

Michigan’s Top Rated Child Custody Attorney

Navigating Child Custody 

Child custody, parenting time, and support create some of the most significant challenges in family law cases. These issues deeply affect families, making it essential to keep the children’s best interests as the focus. As Michigan’s top-rated child custody attorneys, we encourage mindful communication between parents and emphasize reducing conflict in front of children. Effective communication requires patience, empathy, and mutual respect.

Separation or divorce often leads to worries about time with your children. Losing time together can feel overwhelming. For parents with primary custody, concerns may include differences between households. This could include things such as discipline, routines, or influences from others in the co-parent’s home. These challenges often grow as children age or when custody schedules shift.

Child support brings its own set of concerns. Parents paying support may struggle with questions about affordability or fairness. On the other hand, those receiving support may worry it won’t cover their child’s needs. These issues carry weight and impact families directly. Michigan uses a formula that considers both parents’ incomes and other key factors. You can estimate your support obligations using the Michigan Child Support Calculator.

What is Legal Custody?

Legal custody gives a parent the authority and responsibility to make major decisions about a child’s upbringing, including medical care, education, religious instruction, and extracurricular activities.

It is uncommon for one parent to be awarded sole legal custody. In most circumstances, parents can expect to be awarded joint legal custody of their child. With joint legal custody, both parents must agree on the important decisions affecting the life of their child. Where there is disagreement, help from the court may be necessary.

What is Physical Custody?

Physical custody refers to the child’s physical living arrangement or ‘home base’. A child can have one or two home bases. Primary physical custody means the child primarily resides with one parent but also spends scheduled time with the other parent. Joint physical custody refers to the child having a home base with each parent.

What is Parenting Time?

Parenting time is the detailed schedule that parents exercise with their children. There are a variety of schedules to choose from, however, parents are invited to create their own schedule that will work best for their child and both households. Each family is unique, and the schedule of when your child goes between each parent’s home can and should reflect that. It is important to consider the special circumstances of each child, including the distance between you and your co-parent’s homes, the school and extracurricular schedule of your child, among many other considerations. Our firm played a role in the development of Michigan’s parenting time guidelines most recent edition, which provides alternative parenting time schedules based upon the developmental age of the child.

Why Choose Michigan’s Top Rated Child Custody Attorney?

At Wilson Kester the Empowered Divorce Source, our dedicated staff will conduct a thorough initial interview with you to learn about the current custodial situation your child is familiar with. We will then use this information to help you determine what custodial arrangement would be most beneficial for your child. Together, we will work to develop the most effective strategy for achieving your case goals.

We prioritize the emotional and physical well-being of your child, focusing on their needs and advocating for their rights. Our Attorneys maintain professional relationships with child psychologists and child social workers and will connect you with professionals in support of you and your child. We pride ourselves on our ability to handle child custody cases with the sensitivity they deserve. Our dedication to children and their best interests, coupled with our legal expertise, ensures that we provide unmatched service for families in Northern Michigan.

Employee Testimonials

“Shelley regularly checks in with me regarding my caseload and my needs for support. She genuinely cares about my work/life balance and routinely provides coaching and opportunities to ask questions. As a young lawyer, it is important to me that I work for a firm that values ethics, client-relationships, and legal excellence. I found that at Wilson Kester – the Empowered Divorce Source.”

Employee Testimonials

“All of my coworkers are always ready to help, to answer questions if need be, and the environment is super collaborative. I feel like any ideas I might suggest for change within the firm or a new idea will be seriously considered.”

Employee Testimonials

“Wilson Kester is a small company with an emphasis on empathy and compassion. It’s got a lot of people from very diverse career backgrounds, and everyone is focused on improving the organization and themselves. People are kind, and there’s none of the protectionism/defensiveness I’ve experienced at larger organizations.”

We're with you every step of the way.

Contact us today to get started.

What Our Clients Are Saying

“I recently went through an incredibly difficult divorce, and I am pleased to say that Wilson Kester provided invaluable assistance throughout the entire process. I cannot speak highly enough of their professionalism, expertise, and dedication to achieving the best possible outcome for their clients."

— Former Client

“Shelley was compassionate and understanding through the whole process. She has an aptitude on how to read people and was very instrumental in helping me deal with my ex-husband effectively.”

— Former Client

“She is well respected in the professional community, which was evident in our court proceedings. Shelley and her staff made me feel extremely comfortable and I knew that my best interest was at heart.”

— Former Client

“My inquiries and concerns were always promptly and thoroughly addressed, even beyond regular business hours. Ms. Kester is extremely knowledgeable in the area of family law.”

— Former Client