Once you and your partner decide to get a divorce, you’ll likely alter your living situation before filing. If you have children with your partner, you will need to consider who will maintain care and custody of your child while your divorce is underway. A divorce lawyer can help you establish a temporary custody order to determine your child’s needs are met and that your rights as a parent are protected throughout the divorce process.
If you and your partner are not in agreement about which one of you will be maintaining custody of your child or children, you’ll want to get a temporary custody order immediately. Unlike a permanent custody order, this agreement will be followed only during the litigation process and will last until a judge amends it or issues a final custody order.
Since it isn’t unusual for the judge to base permanent custody on temporary orders, you’ll need to make sure you fight for your parental rights, even if they’re only temporary. Many individuals believe that it will be easy to deviate from the temporary order, but that isn’t always the case. Divorce lawyers in Sugar Land, TX can help you establish a fair temporary custody order that will benefit you when it’s time to create the permanent order.
Relocation
A temporary child custody order should always be pursued if one parent is moving the child from their home. Even if your divorce begins cooperatively enough, there is a risk that your partner could claim that you are trying to abduct your child unless there is a custody arrangement in place. This precaution is especially critical when you plan to move the child across state lines.
Alternatively, if your partner is the one moving the child from your home, you will still want a temporary custody agreement. If your partner tries to flee with your child or withholds them from you, a legal custody arrangement makes it easier for you to involve law enforcement. In addition, without a custody agreement or another order in place, law enforcement will have difficulty determining which parent the child should be with, as both will be assumed to have equal rights.
Contentious Relationships
If there’s any animosity between you and your partner, choosing to get a temporary custody order can prevent you from ending up in a stressful situation. Co-parenting during filing will not go well if two individuals cannot find common ground on less critical elements of their divorce.
As tensions increase, one or both parents may use the child to hurt their partner by restricting access and impeding visitation. This behavior will cause an already volatile situation to spiral out of control, and ultimately the child will suffer.
Emergency Custody Orders
If the child’s health or safety is considered at risk with one parent, then an emergency temporary child custody order may be issued. In cases of abuse or unfit parenting, an emergency order is used to ensure the child is out of harm’s way until an official arrangement is completed in court. These orders are completed quickly, sometimes in hours, depending on the severity of the situation.
The lawyer of the parent requesting emergency custody will draft a motion or a petition explaining the danger to the child and why emergency custody is being sought. If you are granted custody, a formal hearing will take place a few weeks to a month after the emergency order is issued. This hearing will allow you and your partner to present your evidence. After the hearing, the judge will decide whether it is in the child’s best interest to let the order stand or overturn it.
Withholding Access
Even if one parent is concerned their partner is unfit, they cannot withhold the child from the other parent unilaterally. To do so could have severe legal consequences for the parent withholding access.
Instead, they should contact a lawyer and seek an emergency custody order. A child can only be withheld from the other parent if the court is certain the child will experience harm in the other parent’s custody. Even then, you will still want to contact a lawyer and potentially law enforcement immediately.
Temporary Child Support
Either you or your partner will end up paying child support, and having a formal child support arrangement through the court can be less frustrating than trying to work out something with your partner month to month. A temporary child support order works the same way as a temporary child custody order, giving you and your partner guidelines to follow during the litigation process to ensure your child’s needs are met.
Choosing not to pursue a temporary custody order in a contentious divorce is not advised and can increase your child’s stress. Many couples constantly argue about custody if there is no order in place; this creates feelings of instability and anxiety in the child that can have long-lasting effects. Parents looking to limit the adverse effects of divorce on their children should talk to a divorce lawyer about setting up a temporary child custody agreement while filing for divorce.