Win Your Child Custody Case

[Willard Gerard]

Winning your child custody case may be the most important win of your
life. No parent wants to lose their child custody case because that
means you lose time with your child. The good news is that if you're
willing to put in the effort, there's a good chance you can feel
victorious about your child custody situation. Here are three tips on
how to win your child custody case.
1. Prepare, prepare, prepare. The key to winning in your child
visitation situation is to be prepared. You need to do your research
and become familiar with the child custody laws in your state. If you
are taking your case to court and trying to win sole custody you need
to organize your reasons into clear and concise points. If you have an
attorney, the attorney will help you prepare. If you don't have an
attorney, you need to make sure that you are completely prepared for
court and know exactly what to expect. Make sure you have the evidence
to support your case. Get the testimony of some social workers, people
who interact with your child at school, and other professionals that
support your reasons for wanting custody. You also want to talk to
your child about what is going on. Don't try to get your child to tell
the court rehearsed phrases from you--they'll figure out what's going
on and you'll look bad. Instead, explain to your children that they
may be talking to the judge. Encourage them to not be scared and to
express themselves honestly. If you and your former spouse have agreed
on joint custody then you need to find out about the laws that govern
that.
2. Create your child custody schedule. Your child custody schedule is
an important part of your custody agreement, and it will probably take
the most time to make. Take the time to figure out the schedule that
you want. If you have a shared custody situation then you want to
create the schedule that works for both you and your ex. You'll need
to come up with basic schedule and then divide up the holidays. You'll
probably want to include some one-time special events and recurring
events that change the normal schedule. Some parents find it very
useful to purchase a computer software program to help make this
process easier. Along with the calender, you'll want to figure out the
time-share and overnight percentage that each parent has with the
child. This is nice for the parents because they know how much time
they have with the kids, and it is also necessary for figuring out
child support. If you have a sole custody situation then you need to
create your schedule of visitation. Be fair to the other parent. The
court will assume that a good relationship with both parents is in the
child's best interest--so you need to create a schedule that is in the
child's best interest if you want to win your case.
3. Decide on provisions you want in the agreement. Think through any
stipulations and provisions you'd like to add to your child custody
agreement. You can include a provision that says you are notified if
the other parent gets your child a passport. Or, you could have a
provision that says each parent will give the other parent an
itinerary when taking the child on vacation. You need to decide what
is important to you, and add that to the custody agreement so it
becomes legally binding. This way you are winning because you can rest
assured that the child is being raised as you wish. If you are going
to court for your custody situation, it is impressive if you can bring
nice, clean copies of your child custody schedule and any other
important documents. Show the judge how you've thought through the
entire situation and the judge will listen and accept your ideas.
You can end up with a winning situation with your child custody case.
Do your homework and preparation, create your child custody schedule,
and decide on any stipulations you want added to your agreement. Then
you can enjoy the time you have with your child and really be a
winner.