subject: Tips To Help You Win Your Custody Battle - Part 2 [print this page] Being involved in divorce proceedings can be an extremely stressful experience for a couple, even if the divorce is amicable. In the case of an amicable divorce, the issues of child custody can usually be worked out by mutual agreement, without too much difficulty. When a divorce is contentious, however, the issue of child custody can become a battleground. If you find yourself in this situation, there are certain things that you can do to help insure that you will be able to prevailing in the struggle to be granted custody of your children.
* Keep a calendar of everything involving your children, and the issues around their care. You need to know what activities they are involved in, and what their schedules are. It is also important to keep track of the full details of situations where your ex was unable to fulfill obligations relating to the children - whether it involves picking them up at a certain time and place, or dropping them off on time, or other failures to live up to commitments. * It is very important that you be as flexible as possible when it comes to making adjustments to your schedule to accommodate the needs of your children - and your former spouse - when it comes to matters of the children's schedules. Whenever possible, be cooperative when you are asked to adjust the days or weekends on which you are scheduled to have the children, when it becomes necessary. By doing so, you make it clear to the court that you are placing your top priority on the welfare of the children, and your own needs below that. * Be prepared to show the court why custody should not be granted to your former spouse. Keep track of how much they are involved in the children's lives, and how willing they are to be accommodating to changes that are needed in matters involving their schedules. If you can show that the children seem to be less important to your ex, it can go a long way to making your case. * If your custodial adversary has a history of issues such as poor mental health, drug or alcohol addictions, or a criminal record, these are legitimate issues that can be raised before the court to support your case for being granted custody. If your former spouse is behaving inappropriately with a new sexual partner when the children are present, you can also raise that issue with the Court. Any substantive issue that could adversely affect your children is a legitimate issue for the Court to review when deciding your custody case.
* It is very important that you be as flexible as possible when it comes to making adjustments to your schedule to accommodate the needs of your children - and your former spouse - when it comes to matters of the children's schedules. Whenever possible, be cooperative when you are asked to adjust the days or weekends on which you are scheduled to have the children, when it becomes necessary. By doing so, you make it clear to the court that you are placing your top priority on the welfare of the children, and your own needs below that.
* Be prepared to show the court why custody should not be granted to your former spouse. Keep track of how much they are involved in the children's lives, and how willing they are to be accommodating to changes that are needed in matters involving their schedules. If you can show that the children seem to be less important to your ex, it can go a long way to making your case.
* If your custodial adversary has a history of issues such as poor mental health, drug or alcohol addictions, or a criminal record, these are legitimate issues that can be raised before the court to support your case for being granted custody. If your former spouse is behaving inappropriately with a new sexual partner when the children are present, you can also raise that issue with the Court. Any substantive issue that could adversely affect your children is a legitimate issue for the Court to review when deciding your custody case.
* Do your best to hire a fully competent attorney who can assist you with your custody battle. An attorney who really has your best interests at heart will be your best asset in your campaign for custody of your children. Unfortunately, finding that special attorney is often a "crapshoot", to use the vernacular. Because of this, you need to have a "fall-back", something that can provide a backstop to help you just in case your attorney turns out to be indifferent and simply interested in collecting fees while doing as little actual work as possible. Another situation that can arise with an attorney is that they are simply not able to keep up with all the relevant psychological and legal strategies, kinds of evidence, and types of allegations that work (or fail to work) in the courtroom.
The one best way to get access to this kind of information is to obtain a Custody Guide that has been written by true experts in the field - experts who have all the needed experience and know-how to compile the pertinent information, and to present it in a way that makes it easy for a person without legal training to understand it, and use it. There are various sources for this type of guide that will help you find your way through the often difficult legal landscape that is Child Custody. The links in the resource box will provide further information.
