Adoption Lawyer
If you lose custody of your children during divorce, the world can feel like it is crashing around you. Although you may not fully understand why the court is restricting your children from you, it is not the time to react to the situation negatively. Instead, take the following steps to help reverse the court’s decision.
- Evaluate Your Situation
The judge is obliged to act in what is considered “the best interest” of the child when awarding custody. This includes how the parents interact with the child, how much time they spend weekly with the young ones, and if the child requires special care. Assess what happened and evaluate what the court based their decision upon. You cannot fix a situation that you don’t understand.
- Follow Judge’s Orders
Sometimes, the court assigns custody temporarily or until a parent can follow specific orders. If the judge asked you to abide by visitation restrictions or under supervision, comply with the orders. Your ability to cooperate and follow orders will demonstrate how much you want your children back.
- Ask For an Evaluation
Requesting a home evaluation is a critical step in winning back custody of your children. Make sure your home is clean, organized and that you are ready to answer questions when evaluators visit. A psychologist will perform the formally ordered psych evaluation, including psychological interviews and testing with the children and parents. Be cooperative and show the court you are taking it seriously.
- Contact an Attorney
Once you have established a pattern of compliance with the court and understand why the court took your children’s custody away from you, contact an experienced child custody attorney. With your lawyer’s help, you may be able to work with the legal system to reverse the court’s custodial decision or at least begin the process of required legal motions or inspections.
- Be Patient
The most challenging part of seeking full or partial custody of your children is how slow the court system moves. However, you can exercise your visitation rights while you wait. Be pleasant during the visits and cordial with the other parent, as this shows your willingness to make positive changes and cooperate with the court.
The court’s rulings can be changed, and so can you. As a divorce lawyer from Taylor Law & Mediation, PLLC would agree with, work with your child custody attorney, therapist or other types of support system to make sure you are in the best position possible to care for your children when you do get them back.