What You Should Know When Fighting For Custody of Your Children
If you’re currently fighting for custody of the children, there are certain things you should know. There are times when you may feel frustrated and naturally discouraged, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on obtaining custody. If you’re persistent, willing to act calmly around your ex, and focused on doing what benefits the children, you may achieve the best results.
Don’t Be Afraid to Negotiate With Your Ex
It’s normal for a parent to want to have primary custody of the children after a split occurs. After all, you’re the parent, you love your children, and you want to spend as much time with them as you possibly can. However, if you’re the one who isn’t willing to negotiate and you’re being difficult while your ex is the one willing to talk things out to come up with a conclusion, things may not work out in your favor. There is a possibility the judge will feel like you’re making things more complicated than they need to be, thus causing you to lose out on primary custody.
Coming to an agreement with your ex is the best way to make sure you’re getting a reasonable amount of time with the children throughout each week. While it’s great for many people, it doesn’t work for everyone. If you don’t get along with your ex, the two of you may struggle to come to an agreement. Focus on communicating through a professional lawyer and make sure you’re willing to attend mediation if necessary. If your ex is the one being difficult, he or she is the one who could end up losing out on primary custody due to a lack of being civil.
Show Up Prepared and Act Appropriate in Court
An ex can say a lot of horrible things about you, but that doesn’t mean the judge is going to believe what he or she is hearing in the courtroom. In fact, unless your ex has some sort of evidence to prove that these allegations or true, he or she has nothing on you. While you may feel a bit embarrassed about certain accusations that are being made against you, don’t let it get the best of you. Walk into the courtroom with your head up high, prepared and ready to handle the court situation in a professional manner.
When you have court dates to attend, make sure you’re present and you get there on time. Showing up late is going to make a judge think you’re being careless and aren’t putting in enough effort to prove you deserve primary custody of the children. Make sure you’re dressed in a professional manner, wearing clothes that you’d typically wear on a job interview. Simply carrying yourself in a professional way can leave quite a lasting impression on a judge who is responsible for making custody decisions involving your children.
While you’re in court, don’t let your ex get you to act out of character. He or she may start talking badly about you right in front of the judge, making claims against you that are completely false. If you give your ex a reaction by acting out and getting too angry, it’s not going to look good, and the judge may be disappointed with your actions. Remember that talk is too cheap, and you don’t need to worry about anything negative your ex has to say about you because your main focus is on the children, not the drama surrounding someone you used to date who wants to destroy your reputation for his or her own personal gain.
Make Sure You’re Getting Professional Advice From a Lawyer
Don’t make the mistake of trying to cut corners by not hiring a custody lawyer to help you with your case. If you don’t understand the different laws surrounding custody issues, you need to have a legal professional representing you who can explain these different laws and provide you with some of the most important information you need to know when you’re trying to win the custody battle against an ex. Click here to find free lawyer consultation near me.
You may be worried about the cost of hiring legal representation to help you, but many custody lawyers are willing to work out different payment agreements that are reasonable. Instead of paying for the services all upfront, you could speak with the lawyer during the consultation and find out if he or she would be willing to accept monthly payments for the legal services you’re receiving. Don’t be afraid to discuss your situation because a custody lawyer understands many of his or her clients are in tough positions and are trying to do the best they can for their children.
Stay Clean and Sober
No matter how stressed you’re feeling because of the custody battle, make sure you’re staying clean and sober. Some people like to smoke recreational marijuana, but it’s not going to look good if you have to provide a urine sample and marijuana shows up in your system unless you have a medical reason to use it. While occasional drinking isn’t a terrible thing, you shouldn’t make drinking alcoholic beverages a habit because then it’s something your ex will attempt to use against you and you want to make sure he or she has absolutely nothing to use against you.
As a parent, you likely have such a strong bond with your children and want to make sure you’re able to spend as much time with them as possible. After all, they’re going to get older and they won’t always want to hang out with their parents. Because you want what is best for your children, you may be pursuing primary custody but are a bit worried about the situation because your ex is fighting you for custody. No matter how trying and complicated the process may be, don’t give up, don’t let your ex get to you, make sure you have help from a child custody lawyer, and stay clean and sober as you fight to get the custody of your kids.
