Child’s Legal Representative

At Children First Family Law, we are dedicated to protecting the interests of children in all situations. We have unparalleled experience when it comes to advocating in the role of child’s legal representative. And that experience has shown that it is not only the outcome but the process of reaching that outcome that can impact children’s sense of security and welfare.

Representing Your Child’s Best Interests

Parents know that what their children think they want is not always in their best interests in the long term. A dedicated child’s legal representative (“CLR”) relies on years of experience and extensive training to assess situations and develop goals that truly serve a child’s best interests.

The CLR is an attorney, not an “expert” and is different therefore than the other options for child advocacy often considered in family law cases in Colorado – Child and Family Investigators (“CFIs”) and Parental Responsibilities Evaluators (“PREs”). Those experts have different roles than the CLR – you can read more about that here as the differences are important to understand. We have trained and served in the role of CFI in the past over many years but believe the best advocacy for kids happens in the CLR role with a broader, more systemic and long-term involvement, not just a report from an “expert” that gets dropped on the case months later without active ongoing engagement to help solve problems and get decisions made and finalized.

As CLR, we listen to what your children have to say. But we also know how to read between the lines and to fit statements into context to understand the big picture. In a custody battle, we realize that each parent wants to secure a place in their child’s life, and it can be hard to look objectively at what will be best for a child in the long run. At Children First Family Law, we sympathize with parents’ desires and hear those in an ongoing manner in working with parents and their counsel if they are represented,but as CLR we have the ability also to meet with kids, visit them at home, talk to teachers and therapists and others, and bring all that perspective to the process. We focus completely on serving children and finding solutions that serve their unique needs. Sometimes we bring on experts to help – psychological experts, therapists, domestic violence evaluators, and others. But the CLR stays on the case through it all, being the central point for advocating throughout the case for the child – and what the adults need to know to make the very best decisions for that child.

Focus Forward

Even when parents end up with a plan of shared parenting time, if they drag the family through years of angry conflict to reach an “amicable” outcome, they damage their children in ways that may permanently alter the course of the kids’ lives. It is important for parents to understand that their approach to the issue of fractured parenting makes a tremendous difference. The family law bar sometimes makes this worse, fueling conflict by not being solution-oriented enough or not viewing the case holistically because the parent’s lawyer understandably only views the case through one parent’s lens The break up of a once-beautiful family relationship is painful, but it is possible to build on the pieces to create a new family structure for the future. When parents focus on the possibilities for the future rather than lamenting what they have lost, they not only help their children avoid damaging feelings of guilt, anxiety, and  depression, but they also improve their own personal outlook.

The Process Matters

A child’s legal representative advocates for plans that serve the child’s best interests, but the way that advocacy takes place can vary tremendously. At Children First Family Law, we know that it is in a child’s best interests to develop solutions in a collaborative rather than contentious environment, but we have also seen that it is in the parent’s best interests to work cooperatively.

Often, the help of an effective, experienced CLR can take even the most contentious cases with years of toxic interaction in court and out and find a path to negotiate solutions that work for everyone.  By focusing on finding the best plans for the future instead of worrying about who did what in the past, parents can free themselves to become creative and establish plans that meet their personal needs in a way that a generic parenting plan imposed by a judge can never match. A collaborative approach to parenting plans allows parents to have more input in the results. This approach also preserves family relationships, which will be so critical in the days, weeks, and years ahead.

However, if a settlement is not reached, the CLR plays the important role of serving as the attorney representing the children’s best interests in court, bringing their voices to the conversation and advocating in a manner that helps the court decide what to do when parents are at a crossroads.

Approaching Your Needs with Compassion

As a family law firm, we know that many people equate the term family law with divorce. We don’t see it that way. Instead, we view our role as family defense. While that starts with protecting the children who are the center of it all, we are sensitive to the difficulties faced by parents and other families as well.

One of those difficulties is the expense of the divorce process and the costs of establishing two separate households. We remain respectful of clients’ resources and focus on the needs of the particular case to handle issues with efficiency.