How a Child Custody Lawyer Can Advocate for Your Parental Rights

Child custody is one of the most difficult parts of any divorce, and when you are trying to make sure that you do the very best for your kids, it can help to have a child custody lawyer in Austin, TX on your side. During times like these, you need an advocate who is determined to support your rights in contentious situations.

How a Child Custody Lawyer in Austin, TX Will Advocate for Your Parental Rights

By Bringing Skill and Experience to Bear

Have you ever watched a movie or television show where a person from a Western culture went to visit another culture, and there they found themselves at sea in some kind of market, because they had no experience with the concept of bargaining to buy goods and services? If you have seen this, then you have some idea of how difficult it is to negotiate with someone who has an enormous amount of skill and experience in doing so, when you have little or none.

Lawyers know all the state custody laws that may apply to your situation, and this alone makes them better able to advocate for you than someone who has never studied and worked within those laws before. Beyond that, your lawyer will have extensive experience in negotiations and in making persuasive arguments. This will be helpful in general, and it will be especially helpful if the other parent has already hired a lawyer. If they have, then all the power is on their side until you get an attorney in your own corner.

By Protecting You Against Your Ex’s Plans When Necessary

All too often, we see a situation where a newly divorced parent feels “liberated” and decides that they want to move to another city, state, or even country. In some cases, they don’t even think about what this will do to the family dynamics, to their child custody situation, or to their ex.

If your ex has plans like this, and especially if they are presenting those plans to you as a foregone conclusion rather than just something they are considering, you need a lawyer on your side immediately to advocate for your right to remain involved in your child’s life, even if your ex has had primary custody up to now. Just because an ex has primary physical custody does not mean they can simply pick the children up and take them anywhere. Your lawyer will fight hard for your right to keep a family dynamic that allows you access to your children.

By Advocating for Your Rights “Despite”

Whenever you get into a fight over custody of children, things can get very heated. If there is anything at all in your past, your ex may try to use it at this point, even if it is no longer an issue, you long ago made amends for it, and even if they promised never to hold it against you or to mention it to another person.

If you have any history of alcohol abuse, a past criminal conviction, or anything similar, a lawyer will help to advocate for you and show how this should not interfere with your rights as a parent. Your lawyer may also be able, depending on what it is, to keep it from being used against you at all.

By Pushing Back Against Abuse and Protecting You From Future Issues

If your ex has a history of domestic violence or abuse, or if you have a reason to fear abuse as you go forward, trying to handle the negotiations by yourself can be a dangerous move. The courts in Texas are predisposed to keep both parents active in the lives of the children unless there is a compelling reason not to do so, and many abusers are very skilled at hiding their abusive behavior.

If you go it alone, and especially if your ex has a good lawyer, they may be able to hide their behavior from the court entirely, leaving you and the children exposed. A skilled Austin, TX child custody lawyer will take steps immediately to ensure that you and your children are protected and will then advocate for you to protect both you and the kids from an abusive partner.

By Preparing You for Your Child Custody Evaluation

In some cases, the court may order a child custody evaluation. This means they will appoint a person to come to your home to take a look at your life with your child, assess mental and emotional health, and give the court advice. These evaluations are inherently stressful, and it’s possible to put a wrong foot forward not because you don’t have a good relationship with your child but simply because you’re tense, nervous, and don’t really know what this stranger is looking for when they come into your home.

In this situation, your lawyer will not advocate on your behalf but will instead prepare you to advocate effectively for yourself. If the evaluation goes poorly, your lawyer will then advocate for you in court to get a new evaluation.

By Helping You Present a Change to an Existing Custody Agreement

It can be difficult at times to modify an existing custody order. It’s important to do this in certain situations, though, such as if there’s been a major change to something in your child’s life or you or your spouse need to relocate for work. Any changes must be negotiated with you and your spouse and also presented properly to the court.

Your lawyer will help you to understand what the court will accept, craft your proposed change in a way the court will find compelling, and then present your case effectively. Your lawyer can also work together with your ex and their lawyer to come up with a plan, providing a kind of buffer between you and your ex so that you don’t have to deal with them directly, alone. Sometimes, this is the best way to reach a compromise that everyone can live with as it allows you to skirt around personal issues that come between you and focus entirely on the children.

By Investigating When Necessary

In some cases, you may need someone to investigate on your behalf to advocate for your rights. This investigation could be into your own life to provide compelling evidence that you are a fit parent, or, it could be an investigation into your ex to find proof that they are not fit to be the primary caregiver of the child or children.

Because an experienced family law attorney has gone through this process so many times, they know where to look in these types of investigations and what kind of evidence the court will be looking for and will find compelling. They can then present this evidence on your behalf.

A family law attorney is much more than someone who just fills out some paperwork and ensures that you’ve dotted all your i’s and crossed all your t’s. Your child custody lawyer is your advocate, fighting on your side for every right you have as a parent and for the health of your relationship with your children. For experienced help, contact our family lawyer in Austin.