When you get married and decide to have kids, the last thing on your mind is a child custody battle. When they get married and start a family, most people plan to spend the rest of their lives together, but with the rising divorce rate, custody battles are a reality that more people have to face. When it comes to a custody battle, though, fathers often have a harder time.
Here are some helpful tips for fathers facing a custody battle.
Show That You Can Provide for Your Child
If you want any attempt at winning custody over your child, you must financially support them. Being able to financially support them isn’t just about putting a roof over their heads. You must be able to take care of them. In addition to shelter, you must prove to the courts that you have enough money to feed them, along with money to provide for their education and leisure activities.
Prepare Your Home
When trying to obtain custody of your child, the courts will ask to inspect your living quarters. Before heading into court, your CK Lawyers child custody lawyer can tell you what needs to be done. But you want to take some time to make sure that your home is fit to live in and that it’s childproof.
Courts don’t want to see a kid having to sleep on a couch amid a pile of garbage. Ensure that the house is clean and that the child will have their own room or one to share with siblings.
Be Involved with Your Child
No court is going to award custody to an inattentive father. If you want any chance of getting awarded custody, you must be involved with your child. Make it a priority to give your child the time and attention they deserve.
Don’t just show up for a day here and there. Do everything you can to be present in your child’s life; attend school functions, presentations, or any other special activities that they have going on.
Prepare Yourself Psychologically
As a father, you already know that the odds are stacked against you in gaining custody of your child. Most courts tend to award custody to the mothers. If you want custody of your child, you have to be prepared to fight an uphill battle.
Make sure that you are psychologically prepared for the emotional toll that a court battle will take. Having a good lawyer on your side and following the above tips are great ways to prepare for the process.
