3 Tips for a Stress-Free Child Custody Battle
Fighting for custody of a child or children is the last thing parents wish to do. While exes might have irreconcilable differences, involving children when solving spousal disputes is not recommended. There are situations, however, where the best possible solution is to fight for full or partial custody of children. It usually happens when one spouse believes that the children are better off living with them than with the other partner. If you find yourself fighting for child custody, the following are things you can do to make the process as stress-free as possible to all parties.
Obey Visitation -- In most child custody cases, courts might grant visitation rights to the defendant spouse. While you may not know it, a court uses visitation rights to assess whether a partner can fulfil parental duties. You should, therefore, take advantage of visitation rights and spend as much time as possible with your kids. If you have a busy schedule, then you have to work around it because rescheduling visitation times will only work against your case. While postponing one or two times might be acceptable, making it a habit is a bad idea especially if your ex-spouse is trying to build a case against you.
Document Everything -- Everyone will not believe your unsupported allegations, not least the judge, during a children custody process. As your lawyer will tell you, hearsay does not hold water in a court of law. Therefore, make sure that you document everything and that your lawyer has copies of such documentation. For instance, if there is an emergency at work that might force you to reschedule your visitation days, by all means, document the times and reasons for such rescheduling. It is critical because your ex might use this to try to portray you as a bad parent, which is an allegation that will be difficult to disapprove if you do not have evidence.
Work with your Ex -- It might be a hard pill to swallow for most, especially if both parties are not in good terms, but if you are involved in a custody battle, working with your ex is no option. There have been cases where parents have lost custody cases just because, in the eyes of the court, they did not show the willingness to work with their ex-partners. If you want a custody battle to run smoothly, make sure that you demonstrate readiness to work with your ex. Working with your ex-spouse shows that you are willing to put interests of your children before yours.