In my previous article, I discussed the importance emotional stability, both for yourself and your child, in winning your child custody dispute. Today, I would like to focus on another issue that can make or break a custody case: financial security.
When facing custody litigation, a parent should establish that he or she has secured stable employment with an income sufficient to support the children, even if additional child support income is anticipated from the other parent. For some parents, particularly ones that stayed at home to care for the children, this may require that you demonstrate the availability of financial support from close family members, with the aim of influencing the court in your direction.
Also pertinent to the subject of financial security is the parent’s residence. When faced the question of child custody, it is common for a family court judge to request an examination of the home of each parent. This study will be performed by a court-appointed social worker, with the goal of presenting impartial information regarding the living arrangements available to the children. For this reason, a parent should make certain that each child is furnished with his or her own bed and an adequate wardrobe. While children of the same gender can share a bedroom, it does not make a favorable impression for them to be required to share a bed or clothing.
You should also make sure that the home is safe and properly secured; door locks should be in working order, the home should be clean and free from clutter, and most definitely free from any safety issues. These details may seem overly painstaking, but in a child custody battle, they can become sources of great difficulty when the home study reports are released to the Judge and to counsel.
Along with any advice I can give you on this web site, you can greatly improve your chances of prevailing in your custody dispute if you obtain a copy of the Psychologists’ Child Custody Strategies. Packed with far more information than I could possibly present in this blog, this book has made an enormous difference in the lives of many of my patients. You can get more information about this guide, and several others that I highly recommend, on the Resources page of this site.
