It is important to familiarize yourself with the child custody laws, but even more importantly is having an experienced Texas family law attorney on your side to guide you and provide sound legal advice. The court’s desire is to make sure that the child is with the parent that is best for them or to find a co-parenting solution that is optimal for the child. However, one parent may believe that their child’s mother or father may not be fit to parent their child, and they are concerned about the safety and well being of their child. Your Texas family law attorney can help you in exploring how to get full custody of your child by proving that the other parent is unfit.
How to Understand The Standards
Many parents go into a custody hearing with the intention of getting sole custody. They believe that the other parent is unfit. However, the parent has to be able to prove that the other parent is unfit. They also have to be able to do this without trashing the other person. This is where an experienced Texas family law attorney can help guide you and lay the groundwork of how to prove that the other parent is unfit.
How to Prove to the Courts That The Other Parent Is Unfit
It is rare for a Texas court to completely terminate a parent’s rights. That is why you will have to provide sufficient proof that the other parent is unfit. You will need to do the following in order to get sole custody.
- Gather The Evidence – The court will not simply take your word. The more evidence that you can provide, the better. You will need to provide photographs, audio files and videos to prove that the parent was verbally or physically abusive to the child. If the other parent has been arrested, then you will need to provide the copies of their criminal records.
The goal of the court is to protect the parent/child relationship. That is why they will not say that a parent is unfit without concrete evidence.
- Request a Social Study – A Child Custody Social Study is sometimes a court ordered document that the judge will use to see who should be the primary custodial parent. Even if not court ordered an attorney may request a social study on both parents to determine which parent should have primary custody. The report regularly includes the parents living conditions, employment, educational backgrounds, home settings, parenting styles and availability of other family members who regularly interact with the kids. These studies are conducted by case workers, social workers, or other 3rd party child custody evaluators, who are experienced and experts in with working with families and children.
- Addiction to Drugs or Alcohol – You may be able to gather evidence showing that your former spouse has a substance addiction. Many times you can show arrest records that has them involved in drunken disorderly conduct, DWI, DUI or failed alcohol or drug tests.
- Exposure to Family Violence – You may be able to gather evidence that shows a history of family violence. This may be done through medical records or police reports.
- Failure to Spend Quality Time with the Children – A diary can show historical data of one parent not spending time with a child.
- Attend The Hearing – The next step in the process is to attend the hearing. You will need to explain why you believe that the other parent is unfit. You will also need to bring copies of the evidence that you have to support your claim. The court will listen to both parties. They will either give a ruling or request a child custody evaluation.
Child custody cases can be difficult. It can be even harder to prove that the other parent is unfit. That is why it is a good idea to hire a Texas family law attorney. Your attorney will help you fill out the forms. They will also help you gather the evidence that you need to support your claim.
If you need a Texas family law attorney, then you will need to contact us at one of the following numbers.
Call our law offices today at any of our convenient locations and get a free consultation.
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