While you may assume that mothers have a bigger say in their children’s lives than fathers, legally this is not true. Judges are not supposed to consider gender when deciding custody between two fit parents. If you are attempting to get custody of your child, do not assume that mothers automatically win custody and fathers do not. What is more important than the gender of the parent is whether the child is sufficiently cared for emotionally and physically by the parent. Children need both their mom and their dad in their lives. Both parents will start out on equal footings when entering a custody case.
What can affect my custody rights?
Knowing what will take away or limit your right to be in your child’s life will help you to predict the outcome of the custody dispute. A few things that can have an impact are:
- Availability to be able to spend time with your child. You may work out of town often and having physical custody may be more difficult to achieve.
- Being unavailable if your child needs you while at school can be a contributing factor when deciding custody.
- If you have a history of physical abuse, it may deter a judge from granting custody.
- If you have a history of a drug or alcohol problem, you may be deemed unfit to parent.
Custody
A good family law attorney will walk you through your options and listen to what you think is the right route to take. But going in with some knowledge will help you to communicate what you believe is best for your children. The different legal terms and what kind of weight they carry is important to know so you will be able to understand what you are fighting for when you have a custody dispute.
Custody is divided into two large categories:
- Physical custody: This involves where a child lives and how often the child sees each parent. Decisions about the frequency of visitation, what to do on holidays, or what days of the week a parent can see their child are all determined and spelled out in black and white terms.
- Legal custody: This kind of custody refers to decisions made for the child. For instance, medical treatments or procedures, religious upbringing, school decisions.
If you are a father going through a divorce and you want to make sure your voice is heard during a custody battle, give Warnock Family Law in Las Vegas, NV a call today. Making sure you have a solid team to ensure access to your child is what Warnock Family Law is all about.