Things You are Doing to Sabotage your Child Custody Battle
By Steve Bardol on January 19th, 2016 in blog, Child Custody
St. Louis custody lawyer, Stephen Bardol explains:
- Speaking Negatively about your Ex-Spouse
Divorce is emotional. Some days you may communicate effectively with your ex, and other days you can’t seem to get a single point across. Communicating and coordinating with someone during the divorce process is never easy. However, the Court expects you and your ex-spouse to be civil with one another for the sake of your children. If the Court finds out you are bad mouthing your ex to the Guardian ad Litem, on social media, or, worst of all, to your children, the Judge may doubt your ability to be a mature and responsible co-parent. Remember, social media rants may seem like an easy way to get something off of your chest, but you may regret the post if the Court comes across it.
- Denying the Other Parent Contact with the Children
Cutting off communication is a risky move. Unless there is a particular set of circumstances surrounding your divorce (i.e. drug addiction, abuse, neglect etc.) the Court prefers that co-parents work together to create numerous open channels of communication. If your child needs to speak to the other parent, possibly to coordinate a ride to practice or just to say hello, the child should be provided with avenues of communication. Conversely, the same belief is held if the other parent is reasonable about their communication with your children during their non-custodial time.
- Moving in with a Significant Other
During the divorce process, the Court stresses the importance of keeping continuity in the children’s lives wherever possible. Children already have a difficult time watching their parents split households. The Court often finds that children have an especially difficult time if a parent chooses to quickly move in with a new significant other. While finding another romantic partner eventually occurs for many parents, the Courts prefer that children not be exposed to such a dramatic lifestyle shift at the beginning of the divorce process.
There are no “tried and true” ways to definitely win a child custody battle, but there are many things you can do to improve or hurt your custody battle. Avoiding these common missteps will help alleviate some of the stresses of divorce with a St. Louis child custody lawyer. If you are concerned that your actions could be harming your odds in your custody battle, contact a knowledgeable divorce attorney or child custody attorney immediately.
