Fighting for custodial rights can be emotionally taxing, as well as financially burdening. The courts system can be confusing if not familiar with it, and the emotions involved can add to the confusion. There are at least three reasons why it’s important to obtain a lawyer during these times. The Liz Library details some common mistakes made during custodial hearings
- Individuals are emotionally vested in the custodial rights procedures.
- The average citizen does not know the ins and outs of legal issues concerning custodial rights
- Family law attorneys are professionals that seek different tactics to win their cases.
Individuals are too emotionally vested during custodial hearings and often do not get their story told the way they hear it in their head. Judges are not interested in who did what on what date, but are primarily concerned with which parent is putting the child’s interests first. The courts are not a mother-in-law or a family friend who will lend a sympathetic ear. They do not care if one person or the other has had extra marital affairs. What the courts are interested in is who has a stable environment for the child’s development.
Lawyers go to school for three years after obtaining their undergraduate degree. And much like a doctor, lawyers specialize as well. Many lawyers go into certain fields because they are good at performing the tasks that would make them successful in a particular aspect of law. Most lawyers are not doctors; they aren’t interested in saving lives, but are interested in making money and respect. Family law attorneys work on retainer fees, but get money when you use them over and over again as is typical in child custody issues. Respect is earned when one attorney wins over the other. The top 10 reasons a person becomes a lawyer are far different from the top 10 reasons a person becomes a doctor.
Family law attorneys are continually seeking out new ways to win cases for their clients. It is their job to discover and stay on top of laws surrounding child custody and other family law issues. Too often in custodial hearings, an individual hears something about how a relative was able to do this or that, and takes their example as the way things are. Circumstances are not always the same when stories are being shared and so the results may vary. Lawyers are able to act as an observer and will key in on potential legal aspects of a situation. This is the lawyer’s ability and vantage point that allots them the opportunity to register emotional stories into real and factual legal issues.
In the end, a person hires an electrician to wire a house. People go to the doctor for surgery. The world is made up of professionals who do what they do because they are good at it. When it comes to custodial hearings, it only behooves the person to hire a professional lawyer that will work their best to maximize the parent’s rights and the child’s best interest.