Attending your first child custody hearing can be scary. The thought of not getting to see your kids as often is stressful enough, but now you have to prove to a family court judge you are a good enough parent to have custody of your children. Work closely with your Frisco & Collin County divorce lawyer and follow the below tips to prepare for your child custody hearing.
Gather Your Documents
Work with one of our attorneys to determine which documents are best to bring to your child custody hearing. Depending on the circumstance of your case, you might need to print out a detailed phone log, a parenting plan, proof of child support payments and other notes on hand.
Learn the Better Parent Standard
Essentially, in your child custody hearing you and your ex-spouse will be trying to get the judge to choose yourselves as the better parent, which can be hard to prove. The best way to prepare for this is to work with your attorney and find out what the family courts are looking for in a custodial parent.
Prepare a Parenting Plan
Your parenting plan is an outline of how you plan to raise your children if given custody of them. This should include detailed calendars, daily living schedules and anticipated vacation time. You will need to outline the following details:
- Legal Custody: Who will make decisions regarding your children’s lives? It can be one parent or both.
- Medical and Health Care: Include who is responsible for making the major medical decisions for your children. Who is responsible for health insurance coverage and who will pay for medical, dental and vision needs as they arise.
- Child Exchanges: Create a plan for how you and your ex-spouse plan to conduct child exchanges so that things run smoothly for your children.
If you need help preparing for your child custody hearing, contact our Collin County divorce attorney today. (940) 293-2313