Steps For Man To Get State Custody

The most important thing a man can understand about “State custody,” or court ordered custody arrangements after a divorce, is that the court does not consider granting custody based on gender. “State custody” or court ordered child custody is granted to the parent or parents on a finding that granting such custody would be in the “best interests of the child.” The court does not care about the best interests of the parents be they male or female. The court is only interested in the best interests of the child or children of the marriage. The one and only step a man needs to take to be awarded primary “State custody” of his marital children is to show the court that awarding custody of the children to him is in the best interests of his children.

Reasons a Court May Deny Parental Custody of Children

Alcohol or drug abuse
Neglect of children placing them at risk of harm
Criminal activity
Parental mental or emotional instability
Mental, physical or sexual abuse of a child
Exhibiting explicit sexual behavior in front of a child

Many parents will try to accuse the other parent of one or more the above damaging traits in order to try to gain custody of marital children. In highly contested divorce actions there are often extremely derogatory claims made by spouses to gain ground. Courts are rarely fooled by the bogus claims and the spouse making the baseless allegations will find that he or she only hurts herself. The court may appoint a “guardian ad litem” or a court appointed attorney representing the children. It will be his job to investigate both parents and make reports to the court on their lifestyles, the truthfulness of their allegations against the other and their fitness to be awarded custody of the marital children. A court appointed lawyer takes away a parent’s ability to reasonably decide how his marriage will end and instead forces the issues to be resolved by court action.

Getting Legal Help

If you or a member of your family is going through a divorce or has ended his marriage and is unhappy with the State custody order entered by the court concerning his marital children it may be important to contact a divorce lawyer to discuss the circumstances of the award of custody of the children. A lawyer can act to protect the interests and rights of the children to visit periodically with both parents and to be allowed to maintain an on-going relationship with both parents.

Thinking About Divorce?