Are you in a situation where your child's mother or father is not married to you and not around? You should consider filing a child custody petition. While you think this is not necessary, the missing parent actually has the same amount of parenting rights as you if they ever decide to come back into the picture. Here are some things you should know about child custody petitions before you file your paperwork.
The Court Considers Support and Custody As Separate Legal Issues
Don't make the mistake that a formal custody hearing is all you need to address any legal issues with your child. A custody hearing will only address issues pertaining to visitation and custody, and it will not deal with any issues about receiving child support. It is set up this way because the court views these as two different legal issues. Parents can win entitlement to visit their child, even if they have not had a history of making child support payments. On the opposite end, they may be required to pay child support even if they want nothing to do with being in the child's life.
The Court Decides Custody Based on the Child's Interest
The custody hearing is not the time to talk poorly about your child's mother or father have behaved in the past and why you feel that you do not want them in your child's life. You will not win a custody hearing by bad mouthing the other parent. The court will make a decision based on what they feel is the best decision for the child.
Your goal should be to demonstrate why you are the best possible fit to be your child's custodial parent. If the other parent has a legal history with drugs or violence, those will be made apparent during the custody hearing, which a judge considers when thinking about the child's safety and home environment. Past problems may not even disqualify a parent from having visitation completely, but they might require that visitation is supervised instead.
While a custody petition is not going to be a fun experience, it can give you the legal rights that you need to protect your child. Don't let your emotions get the best of you, and make sure that you are well prepared for when you need to present your case to a judge. If you have a complicated custody situation, know that you can always hire a lawyer like Cragun Law Firm to help you through the custody petition process.
Share29 March 2018
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