In Family Law, child custody disputes can be the most emotional types of cases. Parents involved often allow their emotions towards each other to dictate what direction they take the case in, which often leads to unnecessary court appearances and a long, drawn out case.

OBEY COURT ORDERS

Judges don’t like their orders to be ignored. Remember, they are the ones who will be making the decisions in your case, so even when you aren’t happy with what has been ordered, you should follow it until it is further modified or changed.

AVOID SELF-HELP

Self-help is where a person takes action without legal authority, such as taking the kids when it is not your custody time without the other parent’s consent, or moving away with children without getting consent. If a problems arises, it is usually best to get legal help before taking the law into your own hands. If there is an emergency problem, contact law enforcement, or get emergency orders from the court, such as a restraining order. But taking matters into your own hands can significantly hurt your overall case, and can cause you to lose custody.

DON’T MAKE FALSE ACCUSATIONS ABOUT ABUSE

Sometime parents believe that if they accuse the other parent of abuse, it will benefit their case. When there is real abuse, that is a serious concern and should be brought up, but making false accusations to leverage a custody case will only cause delay, unnecessary expenses and costs, potentially put the children through uncomfortable investigations, and will in the long run hurt the case of the false accuser.

Another thing to keep in mind, such accusations can often backfire. When abuse allegations are made, the Department of Child and Family Services may become involved, and when they do an investigation, they will be looking for any abuse or negligent by either parent. What this means is an accusing parent may find themselves under the spotlight instead of the other parent.

DON’T INVOLVE THE KIDS IN THE CASE

Children go through enough with separated households, and a parent should avoid speaking directly about case problems with them or trying to sway the kids to benefit their case. Children don’t want to disappoint either parent, and trying to use them to benefit your overall case can cause emotional trauma for them. Avoid also arguing or discussing problems with the other parent in front of the children.

There are many things that affect a chid custody, but the temptation to do dishonest acts or take matters into your own hands can have a detrimental impact on your custody case. If you aren’t sure about what to do, consult an attorney, or file your petition to the Court before taking action without a court order. Keep your emotions in check, or they could unravel your entire case.

If you have a question regarding Divorce in Los Angeles please contact us at (818) 926-4420 or visit the Family Law section on our website at Law Offices of Anat Resnik. Call today and we will connect you with Anat Resnik, an experienced, aggressive, affordable Divorce and Family Law Attorney in Encino. After you have spoken with our Los Angeles Family Law attorney, we can schedule you a free face to face appointment to discuss your circumstances. If you have questions or are considering any aspect of filing for Divorce, a Paternity issues, Child Custody and Visitation, Spousal Support & Alimony, etc. we can help! Call us now at(818) 926-4420. We look forward to hearing from you and assisting you with any and all family law needs.