While you and your partner may have planned to raise your children together, if you have decided to divorce this will no longer be possible. Unless you and your partner can reach an agreement about who should have custody of the children, this decision will be in the hands of a family court judge. The judge will make a decision based on what they believe to be the best interest of the children involved in the case. Below is a guide to 3 actions you can take which will help to improve your chances of gaining custody of your children after your divorce:
Take an active part in your children's daily lives
When making their decision, the judge will consider the part each parent plays in the day-to-day lives of their children. It is important that you can demonstrate to the court that you are involved in your children's lives. This involvement could take the form of taking them to a weekly sports class, picking them up or dropping them off at school or taking them out on regular trips at the weekend. These actions help to show that you are someone who is committed to their children and that your absence would have a negative impact on your kid's lives.
Provide a stable and safe home life
The judge will also consider if you are capable of offering a safe and stable home life. If you have had to move out of the family home, you may be living in temporary accommodation. If this is the case, you should consider the following questions. Does this accommodation have enough room to house your children and is the accommodation situated in a safe neighbourhood? Even if the accommodation you can offer is safe, you will still be required to show that you can offer a safe home life to your children. Although you may be upset or stressed by the divorce, you should resist the temptation to drink heavily or to abuse drugs, as this will serve as an immediate red flag to the family court.
Include the other parent
When making your case in court, it is vital that you include the other parent in your plans. Yes, you want custody of the children, but you should not plan to cut your partner out of their lives. Agreeing that the other partner can have visitation rights can help your case as the judge will realise that by awarding you custody they will not be depriving the children of access to their other parent.
If you would like to find out more about child custody, you should contact family law solicitors today.
Share30 May 2017
I love watching legal dramas from all different countries. I often call up my friend who is a lawyer to ask her about whether the cases I have seen on the latest drama are realistic or if they wouldn't happen that way in Australia. It's so interesting to me to see the changes that they make to make the stories flow more convincingly as well as the differences between the law in Australian compared to other countries. This blog is for other fans of legal dramas like me and has some tips on the best places to get real legal advice (hint, it's not on the TV!).