A divorce is not easy, especially when children are involved. If you and your spouse are fighting over the custody of your children, you are likely feeling angry, frustrated, stressed and confused. If so, you do not want to make any mistakes that could cause your custody case to go even more poorly and you should think about consulting a child custody lawyer.

However, you also probably do not want to be completely passive in the process. If you do not act to protect your interests, you could end up losing your children and your status as a parent. In addition, you could lose your children to someone who you do not think is fit to be a parent.

If you are going through a divorce, you need to know what to do in order to get custody of your children. Here are some things that you need to know.

1. Do not let your emotions get the best of you.

You are going to feel emotional throughout the custody process. However, you should know that it is easy to make mistakes when you are emotional. If you are feeling sad, angry, frightened or anxious, you need to take a step back and think about your situation.

2. Consider hiring an attorney.

In many custody cases, at least one parent ends up facing a lot of obstacles. For example, a parent might have to deal with a bad reputation, a lot of debt or a difficult ex-spouse. It can be very helpful to have a skilled attorney who can help to create a plan of action to win custody of your children.

You should try to find an attorney near enough to your home; this gives you the opportunity to meet up easily before the court hearing. To find a reputable representative close to you, use Google; for example, if you live in Salt Lake City, you should try searching “Utah family law attorneys” online. This will give you the results you’re looking for.

3. Make sure that your ex-spouse has a good reputation.

Even if you do not have a bad reputation, your ex-spouse could end up with the better reputation and therefore get custody of your children.

To help your case, try to think about ways that you can make sure that your ex-spouse has a bad reputation. For example, if you have evidence that your ex-spouse has been abusing drugs, drinking a lot or has been involved in domestic violence, you need to present that evidence to the court.

4. Put your children’s needs ahead of your needs.

It can be very tempting to want custody of your children so that you can control their lives. However, you need to know that you should not make your children’s needs secondary to your needs. If you do so, you could end up getting custody of your children, but they could end up suffering.

5. Be prepared to pay child support.

Even if you get custody of your children, you might have to pay child support to your ex-spouse. If so, you need to know that you will be responsible for the child support payments.

If you do not make the payments, you could end up losing custody of your children.

6. Show the court that you are responsible.

If you are hoping to get custody of your children, you need to show the court that you are a responsible parent. To do so, you should think about ways that you can show the court that you will be able to care for your children.

For example, you might be able to show the court that you have a stable job, that you are a responsible person or that you have a good relationship with your children.

7. Be aware of your financial situation.

If you are going through a divorce, you may be dealing with a lot of debt, a bad credit rating and concerns about your job stability. If you are in a situation like this, you need to know that it could hurt your chances of getting custody of your children.

8. Be aware of your ex-spouse’s financial situation.

It is also important to know about your ex-spouse’s financial situation. If your ex-spouse is in a bad financial situation, you may be better off not getting into a custody battle. If your ex-spouse is doing well financially, you may want to go ahead with a custody battle.

9. Make sure that you are being reasonable.

If you go to court and you are being unreasonable, you may end up hurting your chances of winning custody of your children. The court will think that you are unfit to be a parent if you are being unreasonable. If you are being unreasonable, you should give yourself a break, think about what is going on and try to get hold of your emotions.

10. Communicate with your ex-spouse as much as possible.

It is important for you to communicate with your ex-spouse as much as possible. If you are going through a divorce, you will most likely have a lot of questions. For example, you may be confused about how the divorce court system works and you may have questions about your custody case.

You need to communicate with your ex-spouse and make sure that you understand everything that is going on.

11. Know that the courts understand that you want your children.

If you are trying to get custody of your children, you need to know that the court will understand that you are not trying to hurt your ex-spouse. Your ex-spouse may have a bad reputation, but the court knows that you love your children and that is why you are going to court.

12. Know that your children may get confused if you are fighting for custody.

If you are trying to fight for custody of your children, you need to know that your children may be confused. For example, your children may be wondering why you are trying to get custody of them if you love them. If you are going through a divorce, you should make sure that your children know that you love them and that you want to be with them.

13. Keep your anger in check as much as possible.

It can be easy to get angry during a divorce. For example, your ex-spouse may be lying, and you may feel angry about that.

However, you need to know that if you are too angry, you could end up making mistakes. For example, you may put together a bad case or you may say things that you do not mean.

14. Be sure that you are keeping a good relationship with your children.

If you are going through a divorce, it is easy to focus on the divorce and your custody case. However, you need to know that you also need to keep a good relationship with your children. For example, you need to be sure that your children know that you love them and that you want to be with them.

15. Show that you are a responsible parent.

It is important for you to show the court that you are a responsible parent. For example, you need to make sure that you are taking care of your children, that you have a good relationship with your children and that you have a stable job.

To Sum Up

If you are going through a divorce, you need to know what to do in order to get custody of your children. With the help of an attorney, you may be able to secure custody of your children.

However, you also need to know that you need to be responsible in order to get the best outcome in your custody case. If you are feeling overwhelmed by your divorce, you may want to consider finding a divorce lawyer who can help with your case.

Photo by Steven Van Loy on Unsplash

Author: Mandy Kloppers

Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.