Do not bring up the fact that your ex decided to continue to work nights and weekends. Instead, focus on how you got a new job with less hours so you can be there for your child more often.
While you should not nit-pick every little wrong thing you ex does, you should keep track of persistently bad behavior. This includes frequently showing up late to pick up or cancelling on your child altogether.
If your ex tries to alienate you by badmouthing you in front of your child, make note of this behavior. Little things like this can go a long way toward showing the judge that you are the more fit parent.
No matter how solid of a case you think you have, you should not attempt to win custody on your own. Please do not provide any description of your situation and do not ask any questions on the form.
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Lawyer Directory. Call us at 1 Here are five big drawbacks to heading to court to resolve your child custody dispute and some alternative routes to consider.
Custody Battles Are Expensive The legal process for custody battles varies depending on where you live. In most situations, though, you should expect to: Gather your evidence.
You'll need to be able to support your custody arguments, using evidence like text messages and emails, medical records, and therapy records. Some parents even hire private investigators to help them collect evidence against the other parent. Make disclosures to the other side. The process of asking for and exchanging evidence in a court proceeding is typically called "discovery.
Along with producing documents and evidence, you might have to answer written questions from your spouse "interrogatories" and respond to written requests that you admit or deny certain statements "requests for admission". Be ordered to attempt mediation—or show why it's hopeless.
Often, before you present your side of the story to the court, the judge will require you to either participate in court-ordered mediation or explain why there's no chance of mediation being successful.
Present your side at a trial or hearing. No matter whether your court calls it a "hearing" or a "trial," this is the opportunity for both you and your spouse to present your arguments, witnesses, and other evidence to the judge. Most states don't allow juries to decide child custody matters. Adhere to the final parenting plan ordered by the court. After considering both sides, as well as what's in the child's best interests , the judge will issue a parenting plan order.
Each parent will receive a signed copy of the parenting plan, and it is binding upon the parents just like any other court order. Custody Battles Are Difficult on Children Despite all your best efforts, your child will likely be aware of the fact you and your spouse are fighting over custody.
Custody Battles Air Your Dirty Laundry in Public When you and your spouse work out the details of your custody arrangement, there's no need for sensitive personal information to be aired in court. Custody Battles Take a Long Time to Resolve When you take your custody dispute to court, you should expect to wait months—or even a year or more—before your hearing or trial date.
The reasons for the lengthy process include: Procedural rules. Every court has procedural rules that dictate the timing of the steps in a case. For example, during the discovery period, your spouse might have 30 days to produce evidence to you, and you might then have another 30 days to respond or ask for more information.
The judge might also require you to try mediation, giving you a certain period of time in which to complete the mediation. Your hearing or trial date could be pushed back due to delays, such as the court's busy calendar, attorneys' limited availability, and court closures due to external factors like bad weather or illness. And a court's custody order might not be the end of the battle because: You're less likely to successfully co-parent.
A parent who feels like the "loser" in the custody trial might not want to cooperate. And, regardless of the "winner," after battling it out in court, neither parent is likely to feel kindly towards the other. It's more likely that future disagreements will be decided in court.
The hard feelings from the initial custody battle often linger.
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