Negative animosity toward your child’s other parent can make it difficult to navigate a child custody dispute. But you have to remember that your arguments should be targeted at how your position best protects your child’s best interests.
That sounds simple enough, but there are a number of mistakes that can be made along the way that can jeopardize your position and ultimately your time and relationship with your child. Let’s look at some of these missteps so that you know what to avoid moving forward with your case.
Errors to avoid in your child custody dispute
A slip of the tongue or a seemingly harmless act can have profound ramifications in a child custody dispute. So, as you prepare to navigate your case, be sure to avoid the following:
- Being disrespectful and downright nasty to your spouse, especially in writing where you basically hand the other parent evidence to use against you.
- Making statements to your child or restricting the other parent’s access to them in a way that can be viewed as manipulation or parental alienation.
- Refusing to cooperate with the other parent and being inflexible with parenting time arrangements.
- Posting potentially harmful information on social media.
- Failing to keep detailed notes about things that the other parent has said or done, or statements made and behaviors exhibited by your child, that are indicative of what’s in your child’s best interests.
- Foregoing time with your child in favor of spending it with a new partner.
Present strong arguments in your child custody case
Your child’s well-being and your relationship with them is on the line in your child custody case. With so much on the line, you owe it to yourself and your child to present the best legal arguments possible under the circumstances. Don’t become your own worst enemy in the process. Instead, be careful and thoughtful as you head into your custody dispute so that you’re positioned as strongly as possible to secure the outcome that’s best for your child.
