Noncustodial parents who want to win custody of their children will need to show that they have taken an active role in their children’s lives. It may also be necessary to show that the custodial parent has made it difficult or impossible to do so. This can be done with phone and visitation logs that show when phone calls or visits occurred and how long they lasted for.
Custodial parents may want to use a lack of phone calls or visits as justification to deny expanded rights for the noncustodial mother or father. It is important to make multiple copies of any records that a parent will use to justify his or her position in a custody case. Furthermore, an individual has the right to review any paperwork used to justify a request for a custody hearing. He or she may include a rebuttal to those documents prior to the hearing.
Making multiple copies of letters, phone records or other evidence can be helpful in the event that the court loses or misplaces a document. In addition to phone or visitation logs, letters from teachers, coaches or other adults may be used as evidence. These letters may indicate whether a child thrives while with a parent or is in danger of being hurt while with that person.
During or after a divorce, parents may have disputes related to child custody and parenting time. This may be true whether they came up with a parenting plan on their own or had one created by a judge. In some cases, these disputes are caused when individuals can’t communicate effectively. Working with an attorney or a mediator may make it possible to resolve these issues in a timely manner, which may be in a child’s best interest.
