Generally, a custody battle can be costly, stressful, and time-consuming. But don’t take it lightly, especially considering your child’s age, because their wellbeing is also essential, so make sure you’re always present in their lives.
If you’re facing a divorce and have children, a custody battle may be on the way. So what exactly is a “child custody case”? Usually, this means a legal fight over the residence of a child or the time that a child spends with both parents.
Most of the time, parents disagree over some decisions and head to court.
Other reasons lead parents to fight over their children, such as substance abuse, grandparent rights, moving restrictions, etc. This article will briefly explain how custody battles work in Texas and what you need to know to win your case.
What You Need to Prepare For
One of the most critical things that you need in your custody case is finding the right lawyers. An intelligent and experienced lawyer will fight for you and try to win your case at any cost. Second, they can genuinely make a difference in winning a close case. And lastly, a good lawyer can facilitate the whole process, so it’s less stressful for you and your children.
The most common type of custody case is a disagreement over which parent gets custody of their child. This is crucial because it ensures that the child has a home and a choice of school. Usually, courts keep the child in the same house they’ve been living in for a certain amount of time after the parents have divorced.
If you fear you’ll be in the same situation, it would be best if you contacted Dallas Custody Lawyers to help and guide you through this laborious process. These attorneys will also teach you what you need to do to be a qualified parent for custody and more.
In such cases, the parent awarded custody will also have a ‘domicile restriction.’ This means a limitation on where they can live with their child. These restrictions can be narrow or broad depending on where they file for divorce. In this case, the entire State of Texas is the domicile restriction.
What You Can Expect
Since Texas has relatively high rates of divorce, its courts have different laws when awarding custody. However, you should know that domicile restriction cases are challenging and tough to deal with.
One scenario would be that the mother will want to move near her family after filing for divorce. Still, the court will have difficulty deciding if she’s the primary parent and unemployed.
At the same time, if the father is involved and doing everything right, such as paying child support, spending time with his children, etc., the court can’t justify moving the kids away from their father.
To avoid such situations, you must think before going to court for custody. In fact, you should’ve contacted Dallas Divorce Lawyers to get informed about divorce law regulations in Texas and how you can avoid this.
What are the Main Factors in Custody Cases?
Apart from parent involvement, another significant factor in these cases is the child’s age. For example, if the child is 16, the court might decide to wait for two years until they’ve reached the age of 18. However, if the child is two years old, the mother has a higher chance of winning the case.
Additionally, the home of the child is also based on some factors:
- Which parent has provided the most child care?
- Where the child has been living
- Has any parent misbehaved?
- What is the quality of the schools?
Apart from that, many parents want a 50/50 split in time. However, Texas favors a “Standard Possession Order,” which is essentially every other weekend, every Thursday, 20 days in the summer, and on major holidays.
Generally, a custody battle can be costly, stressful, and time-consuming. But don’t take it lightly, especially considering your child’s age, because their wellbeing is also essential, so make sure you’re always present in their lives.
Join the conversation!