Child custody is the division of parental rights and responsibilities when the parents cannot agree on who should be responsible for raising the child. While there are different grounds for divorced parents to dispute custody arrangements, for the most part, both parents will eventually agree. An agreement can be made through agreement, mediation, or the court. A child custody agreement can be temporary or permanent, and the court can also modify an agreement.
It’s easy to assume that your legal rights as a parent are limited to who can physically have your child and when you can be with them. However, a father’s legal rights and responsibilities go well beyond physical custody. Fathers who sign a parental responsibility agreement or who are awarded sole legal custody also have legal responsibilities for child support and visitation rights.
Here are some Child Custody Tips for Fathers
1. Understanding Full Custody
Understanding what full custody means is important if you are facing or are considering divorce. Full custody means that both parents make major decisions for the child, such as their education. It also entails major medical decisions, including surgeries and procedures. It can also cause some financial issues.
2. When it comes to child custody, money is not always the answer
“I want full custody.” “I just want my kids in my life.” “I just want my visits.”
Those words are all too familiar to parents going through a divorce. Whether through the divorce process or after, it is all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that money and visitation rights will make everything better. This is not true.
3. Create and adhere to a budget.
If you earn serious money but live a nomadic lifestyle, this will make it more difficult for you to gain custody of your children. The judge wants to know that you can provide a stable home for your children, even if you are not living a financially secure lifestyle. Therefore, it’s important to create a clear budget, stick to it, and stick to it always.
4. Keep Your Emotions Under Control
When you divorce, it’s vital that you learn to handle your emotions and react appropriately when interacting with your child’s mother. It isn’t easy, but it is necessary. Your ex-partner is not the enemy, and both you and they deserve to be happy. To keep your stress in check, remember that you can’t control what your ex does; but you can control how you react to her actions.
5. More involvement in your children’s lives
You may feel that you only get to choose the activities your kids participate in, but this is something you can change your mind about. Although you’re no longer living in the same household as your ex, you can still spend time with your children. During this time, you have a lot of control over their schedules and activities. You should still be a part of your children’s lives, and you have a say in their day-to-day lives.
6. Be available.
If you’re going through a divorce or separation, it’s normal for you to feel the emotions that come along with the situation. But your child needs to feel like you’re there for them, too. You may not be able to be there for them 24/7, but try to arrange your schedule so you can talk to them at least once per day. And you should be participating in their extracurricular activities, such as sports, music, and youth groups.
7. Be consistent.
It is incredibly important to be consistent in parenting throughout the divorce process. While children, for the most part, can adapt to major life changes, they are very much sensitive to their parent’s divorce, and they want to know what to expect ahead of time. They are motivated by stability, and the best way to provide that is to be consistent in parenting. For divorced fathers, many complicated factors, such as child support, visitation schedules, and child custody, come into play. It is extremely important to adhere to a consistent parenting schedule, even if that means picking and choosing which days your children will have visitation with your ex.
8. Keep an accurate record
Finding the right balance can be difficult when it comes to child visitation schedules, especially if you and your partner are going through a difficult divorce. If you want to be fair, you have to account for both of your children’s needs—figuring out how much time each parent spends with their child. While it is easy for each parent to list their visitation schedule in a parenting plan, it’s not always easy to keep track of it.
9. Child custody attorney
Child custody battles can be messy and complicated, and it’s important to be able to stand behind your testimony with valid proof. A simple way to avoid these fights is only to hire credible witnesses to testify on your behalf. Experienced child custody attorneys can help you determine what elements make the best witness for custody battles, such as whether they are reliable, knowledgeable, and impartial.