When you are going through a divorce, you might experience stress and emotional turmoil. In fact, most of the time, the legal aspect of the divorce gets tangled up with emotional and personal issues. Furthermore, arguments over child custody complicate the situation.
Even though a child custody fight can get emotional, you must keep a serene mind as the results of the child custody fight are decided by the action you have taken both during and outside the legal proceedings.
Letting your negative feelings come out in the form of destructive behavior or poor judgment on your part is a quick way to paint yourself in the negative limelight.
With that being said, we have asked a Boyd Family law attorney to share their experience and shed some light on how we can win a custody lawsuit.
How To Win A Child Custody Lawsuit?
A lot of parents want to know how to win a child custody lawsuit. But, before we can start with our steps, let us remind you that nobody wins in a family lawsuit. The moment your family issues are brought to court, you have failed to achieve the goals for which you created a family.
There is no sure way of winning a custody lawsuit. However, there are certain things that you can consider and create a plan that allows the child to spend maximum time with both the parents.
Step 1: Show The Court What You Can Do For The Child
It is important that you are honest with your case and tell exactly what you can do for your child. To win the custody case, you must show why you are more equipped to have your child live with you. That means. You must show what is so great about your situation and what is bad about the other parents’ situation.
Step 2: Gather Evidences
Custody cases are based on evidence. The court will not believe your claims about how bad your ex is. The court needs to see the proof of your claim.
- Describe the situation of the other parent that concerns you.
- Document the amount of time each parent spends with the child.
- Keep track of all the activities you do with your child.
- Document visitation disputes.
- Gather photos that depict the child with you.
Step 3: Find Witnesses
Your word is not enough to win the case. You must find families, neighbors, teachers, or doctors who have personal knowledge about your family and can advocate your words. Remember that the witnesses can only testify to the information they have learned firsthand.
Step 4: Take Your Child’s Opinion Into Consideration
Your child’s opinion matters while fighting for the case. Although his opinion will not be a deciding factor, a guardian must know how the child feels about his parents.
Don’t tell your child what to say or bribe him with sweets. Instead, just ask him with whom he would like to be. The answer will let you know how your child feels.
Step 5: Support Visitation
When you are fighting for custody of your child, it can be tempting to limit the other parent’s visitation. Well, that would be a wrong move. Interference with visitation will be considered custodial interference and might result in the reversal of the child’s custody.
A good custodial parent is someone who supports visitation and encourages other parents to visit as frequently as possible. Children need both the parents and the parent who sees and understands this will have a high chance of getting custody.
Winning Custody Battles
The parents who are reading this article with the hope of winning the custody lawsuit must realize that the primary goal of the court is not to reward one parent with a child but to reward the child with a good environment to grow.
Parents who cannot provide proper child care, hold proper jobs or provide a stable home to live in lose custody of the child.
Overall, the court looks at multiple factors while deciding which parent is best for the child’s growth and development.
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