How to Best Position Yourself for Your Child Custody Case
Have you found yourself in the middle of a child custody battle that you cannot imagine losing? Do you want to do everything possible to get fair and equal treatment for your children’s future? Child custody battles are some of the most difficult and emotionally draining legal battles that you may have to go through, and they can be made easier with the help of the right family law practice in Orlando. Our child custody attorneys are prepared to help you get fair custody of your children. These are a few tips to help you position yourself in a good light to fight your child custody case.
Be on Your Best Behavior
During your case, you need to stay on your best behavior. Avoid going out and engaging in activities that involve bad habits, like smoking or drinking. Although these are not illegal, they may put you in a bad light and this can be used against you in court. During your trial, you can expect your ex to bring up any incriminating evidence or poor behavior that you have been engaging in to try to better their side of the case. Stay on your best behavior to reduce your chances and do not give them any chances to bring you down.
Show Affection to Your Children
Even though it is likely your natural tendencies, you will want to show some extra love, attention, and affection to your children during the time you are battling custody arrangements. Parents typically have no issue with this aspect of the case because it is a natural reaction anyways. However, you want to prove to the courts that this is a natural part of your everyday life by interacting with your kids frequently and showing them that love is there. They will want to protect that by giving you the best chances to stay with your kids.
Be Kind to Your Ex
Even though child custody battles are difficult and contentious, you should still be cordial and kind to your ex during times where you are communicating with one another. Being angry, bitter, or resentful towards them can make you look bad in the eyes of the judge, and this can give you unfavorable results. To ensure that you stay in their good graces, keep your comments to a minimum and always stay positive when talking with your ex, no matter how difficult this may be.
Avoid Romance during the Case
Even though this may be difficult seeing as your divorce is already finalized and you may be ready to move on romantically, you should avoid making any large romantic changes in your life. For example, if you move in with a new significant other, your judge may view this as a negative aspect for the children. Showing a stable and consistent living arrangement is beneficial to your case, so you want to provide this for your children when you are battling for the custody of your children. Follow the advice of your family law practice in Orlando and keep things calm at home before you choose to move on romantically in the public eye.
Make Child Support Payments
One of the ways to show that you are capable of financially supporting your children is by making child support payments on time and in full when they are due. By making your payments, you show the courts that you are both reliable and financially dependable, which will have a positive impact on the settlement on your case. In fact, this needs to be one of your top financial obligations during your child custody battle. Failure to pay your child support payments can also result in contempt of court, and this can lead to jail time. This could be one of the dealbreakers that can cause you to lose custody of your children.
Respect Property
Although you may feel like your spouse is taking everything from you during the divorce, you need to avoid taking this out on any physical property. Some people get angry or resentful and they act out. They visit their old home, destroy property, or even get into physical altercations with your ex. This aggression should never occur, and it should never be acted upon. When you react to your anger, you will immediately be viewed as a threat to both your ex and potentially to your children as well.
Keep Emotions Under Control
Emotions run high during child custody battles. It can make you feel bitter, angry, sad, vengeful, confused, or simply overwhelmed. When you are in the middle of your child custody battle, you need to stay focused on your goal to get fair and equal treatment so that you can gain custody of your children. Stay focused on that so that you avoid being overwhelmed by your emotions. Emotions may cause you to act out, become physical, talk poorly about your ex, and react to court decisions in the public eye. If this occurs, you will then be looked negatively in the eyes of the court.
Communicate about the Children
Be cordial with your ex and take the time to ask about and discuss the children. Ask about their time with your ex, and show interest in everything they are doing, whether you are doing it with them or not. When you treat parenting like a competition, the only individuals that are affected are your children. To put them first, even when you are angry or sad with your ex, you need to communicate positively around the children.
These are some of things you can do to put yourself in a good position for success in your child custody case. By doing all the right things and staying on the best behavior during your trial, your attorney will then work hard to negotiate for fair child custody. If you are looking to partner with the right family law practice in Orlando for your case, contact us to hear about how we can help you today.