Today’s Articles January 10, 2012
- Dallas Child Custody Laws
When preparing for a custody suit in Texas, both parents need to be thinking primarily about what is in the best interests of the child, for this is what the family law court will be focusing on.
Parents do have entitlements under Texas law, but it is the needs and rights of the children that are of supreme importance in custody battles, and these will be the crucial factors upon which the court will attempt to base the decision.
As can be seen in section 153.002 of the Texas Family Code, usually, parents are considered to be equal in their right to parent their children, so the rights of parents is not likely to be significant. It is the best interests of the child that are important, and the aim of the Texas law code (as seen in Section 153.00) is to:
(1) Guarantee that children will have repeated and continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in the best interest of the little ones;
(2) Supply a safe, stable, and nurturing environment for the child; and
(3) Encourage parents to share in the rights and responsibilities of raising their child after the parents have moved apart or dissolved their marriage.
If you are a mother or father who is getting ready for (or even thinking about) a custody action, you would do well to keep this in mind at all times. You will not be able to arrange a solid case for custody of your children unless you can show the court how you having custody will be in their best interests.
Giving primary consideration to your little ones will also play a resolving role in many other key areas of your life, at least until custody has been determined.
These areas include:
(1) Where you choose to live. While it might be tempting to move as far away from your former partner as possible, this is hardly ever going to be in the best interests of the children.
(2) How you deal with your own anxiety. While you might feel that you feel a need for the presence of your little ones to help you get through the damage of the divorce, don’t forget that your children are simply not able to deal with the range of emotions experienced by their parents, and that dumping your personal difficulties on them is not simply unhelpful, but can be a form of abuse!
(3) Considering how you refer your former partner. Similarly, mom and dad organizing yourself for custody disputes before the court of Texas must be mindful of the extraordinary hurt that they can do through speaking badly of their Ex in front of the children.
Such behaviour not only does loss to child and parents alike, but it may also be considered by the judge, where a noticeable failure in self-control may be taken as an indicator of an inability to fulfill the proper role of mother or father!
For more informat on Houston Child Custody Laws:
http://www.custodyrights.org
- Getting through your Custody Battle
Custody battles destroy people.
Those who have been through a undesirable custody dispute understand why these struggles are associated with prohibitively high rates of both suicide and murder.
Family court judges frequently live in fear of their resides, as fed up parents often blame them for tearing their family and friends apart. More often though, a bad custody battle leads to self-harm, particularly in the case of men, who tend to be the ones who often feel unfairly victimized by the family family law court judge system.
The best fix for this personal struggles, of course, is to shun going to court entirely. Try hard to reach a satisfactory arrangement with your ex, without bringing in court intermediaries.
Either way though, while your major priority needs to be discovering a custody arrangement that is in the best interests of your children, your number two priority must be to cope with the stress of the custody arrangements without passing that stress levels on to your little ones.
Avoid allowing your child to take part in any of your emotional struggles that are connected with your separation. This is especially damaging where a child is allowed to feel responsible for the family breakdown, or when one parent often plays the role of the “victim”, leaving the son or daughter feeling that they need to do something to remedy the situation!
Be mindful that your children loves you both, and it is not their fault that your connection did not last. They did not cause your marriage breakdown and they cannot cure it.
You must assume the responsibility for this yourself, and if you need support (as we all do) you need to get it from other adults – siblings, parents or friends – and not from your child.
The simple rule is this: do not talk to your little ones about your child custody case. If they ask you how it is developing, assure them that both dad and mom are both trying hard to agree on an arrangement that is foremost for them (the child) and leave it at that.
If your child won’t let up on the questioning, it can be very difficult to avoid going into details, but you must do your best to avoid sharing bitterness and frustration with your children, as you do not want your heartache to become their pain.A qualified family counsellor can be an indispensable asset in these situations, for both parents and son or daughter. In some circumstances, it may even be possible (and very useful) for a skilled counsellor to mediate discussion between a child and both estranged parents. Do not try to do this though without assistance. The dynamics of such an encounter can be very tough to control, and the potential negative consequences are far too serious if things go awry.
Child custody cases are difficult for everybody – children, parents and society at large – and there is only ever one solid ground for entering into a custody battle in the first place: you are worried about best interests of your son or daughter. If then you really are working towards the best interests of your children, be assured that it will never be in their best interests to enmesh them in the anguish of the custody battle.
For more information on Enduring your Custody Case:
http://www.texaschild-custody.com