If you have been divorced and have primary custody of your child and your spouse wants custody or more visitation, it can be a very difficult time for you. If that happens, you are going to need to have some legal representation. If you try to go to court on your own, you can end up not winning your case. That doesn't mean that there aren't things that you can do to help your case, even before you get a lawyer. Once you have representation, this information will make it easier on your lawyer to help you with your case.
Keep a Log
One thing you can do is to keep a log of what happens with your former spouse. You want to write down when they come to your house, what they say, if they are on time for visitation, if they bring your child home on time, and so forth. You also want to make sure that you write down anything that your child has to say about their visit or time with their other parent. Don't encourage your child to lie or exaggerate, since all it will do is hurt your case. Nor do you want to ask your child questions or prompt them in any way. If the judge speaks with your child and they sound overly practiced or have words that don't really fit them coming out of their mouths, it will hurt your case. Asking things like whether or not they had fun at their other parent's house or what they had for dinner is generally OK since they are normal questions, but don't go much further than that. Keep in mind, as well, that your child wants to stay loyal to their other parents as well.
Abide By Prior Court Orders
Even if your former spouse doesn't abide by the orders set down previously, you need to. You may feel like there is no problem not abiding by those orders since they aren't, but really, you need to. If you can show the court that you have done everything you can or that you are following the strict letter of the orders, then it's just going to make you look better in the eyes of the judge, especially if your former spouse isn't doing what they should.
Fighting for custody can be difficult. You will need to make sure you have good legal representation. But there are some things that you can do even before you have representation.
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