Child Custody

More than 40 Years of Emphasis in Legal Issues of the Family; Including Child Custody Cases in Yamhill County, State of Oregon.

Larry K. Gray & Associates, P.C. will strive to achieve the best outcome for every client by providing zealous legal representation through reasoned, logical, informed, effective advocacy.

At Larry K. Gray & Associates P.C., the emphasis and focus are to provide sound advice, top quality document preparation, and/or reasoned advocacy for our client. We strive to provide professional, timely, and cost-effective results to meet the client’s legal concerns. Our proficiency, effectiveness, and integrity have earned us a reputation as one of Yamhill County’s premier lawyers.

At times, you may find yourself in situations or with problems that you cannot resolve on your own. Our legal counseling is designed to assist you and your family with courtesy and respect in such difficult periods. Knowledgeable advice acquired from decades of legal experience can help you formulate a course of action to free yourself from a complex legal maze. We do not represent banks, insurance companies, governmental agencies, or large corporations; our clients are individuals and families seeking help with legal problems they encounter in this increasingly complex world.

Larry K Gray & Associates, PC

"A Family Law Lawyer"

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(503) 538-1350
404 East First Street, Newberg, OR 97132
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Larry K Gray & Associates, PC can answer your questions and help you with Divorce, Child Custody, Parenting Time, Child Support, Property and Debt Division, and Spousal Support Issues.

Child Custody in Oregon

Determining the custody and parenting time for a minor child are often the most difficult parts of a divorce. If the parents cannot agree to a child custody and parenting time arrangement, Oregon has a mandatory mediation program through the court system to assist parents in their efforts to reach a parenting agreement.

In determining the custodian and parenting time arrangement, the law requires that the “best interest and welfare of the child” be the primary consideration. The factors which the court will consider in determining custody are:

1. The emotional ties between the child and other family members;
2. The interest and attitude of each parent toward the child;
3. The desirability of continuing an existing relationship;
4. The abuse of a parent or child by the other parent;
5. Who is the primary caregiver of the child, and if the primary caregiver is a fit caregiver; and
6. The willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the other parent and the child.

All of these factors are not given equal weight. Some of these factors are better predictors of the outcome than others. An experienced family law attorney can give you a better understanding of your options and the potential outcome of your contested child custody case.

Sole Custody

The sole custodial parent is the decision maker for the parents’ child(ren), such as where the child(ren) will live, where the child(ren) will go to school, and what medical treatment the child(ren) will receive. The non-custodial parent is to defer the decision making to the sole custodial parent, but the non-custodial parent is entitled to information about the child(ren) such as address, telephone number, school records, medical records, etc. The non-custodial parent can make emergency decisions, but is to quickly notify the sole custodial parent of the situation and relay the decision making to the custodial parent.

The sole custodial parent provides the primary residence for the child(ren), and the non-custodial parent receives parenting time (visitation) with the child(ren).

Joint Custody

A joint custody arrangement anticipates the parents will work together to make decisions for the child(ren). The courts normally give parents lots of flexibility as to the potential terms of a joint custody arrangement. The joint custody parenting time with each parent can be whatever the parents mutually agree. In Oregon, both parents must agree to the joint custody arrangement, or the court will order a sole custody.

Joint custody is most likely to work if the following situations exist:

1. The parents are willing to put the best interest of the child(ren) ahead of the parent’s self interest;
2. Both parents can communicate with each other with civility;
3. The parents have similar philosophies as to raising children; and
4. The parents have a history of being able to reach agreements regarding the children.

Joint custody is not appropriate for every case and seems to work best with older children. There can be substantial benefits to the parents with a working joint custody arrangement. At times, it is nice being a part-time parent.

An experienced child custody lawyer can give you a better understanding of your joint child custody options, the benefits, and the disadvantages.

More than 40 years of helping people with child custody and parent time issues have given us the experience, knowledge, understanding, and advocacy skills to adapt our legal representation according to the needs of each individual case - whether it's working out the terms of a joint custody arrangement or a difficult nasty child custody trial.