How to Get Custody of a Child During Divorce

If you are getting a divorce, getting custody of child or children may be your top priority. In the vast majority of cases, it is best if you and your spouse can sit down and come to an agreement about how you will handle the child custody issue. That way, you can hammer out an agreement that makes sense for your family and the judge can review it and sign off on it. Sometimes, however, there is simply no way to agree and no room for compromise- in those situations, you'll have to litigate the issue of custody and the judge will have to decide what is going to happen. If you end up in a situation where you are litigating custody of child or children in court, then what can you do to make sure you get custody?

How to Get Custody During Divorce

The first thing you need to understand is that the court will make a custody decision based on what is in the best interests of the child. This means it is generally rare for a judge to cut off access to one parent completely- after all, children tend to do better when they have both parents in their lives to as large an extent possible. In order to get sole custody, this usually means you have to prove that there is a very good reason for your request, such as:

A history of abuse or neglect
A condition or circumstance which makes the other parent unfit, such as addiction or mental unbalance

When both parents are fit parents and there are no extenuating circumstances, either primary custody with visitation or shared custody are the most common custody arrangements.

If you are trying to get sole custody or primary custody of a child, there are several things you can do in court to strengthen your case. You should:

Present witnesses who will testify to the fact that you were the primary caregiver of the child
Present character witnesses to either prove your character or discredit your spouse or both
Present clear evidence of any extenuating circumstances, such as abuse or neglect, which may be important for the judge to understand.

The judge will weigh all the information presented by both parents and make a decision based on what he believes is best. In some cases, a third party- called a guardian ad litum- will also be appointed to speak for the child and to make sure the child's interests are adequately represented in the divorce.

Getting Help

If you are trying to get custody of your child, you must contact a qualified and experienced divorce attorney. You do not want to represent yourself in court when something so important is at stake, and your attorney can use his expert legal knowledge to help make sure you present the absolute strongest case possible for why you should have custody of your child.

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