Mothers' Child Custody Rights
Children need their mothers
Mothers are traditionally viewed as the more nurturing of the parents. Moms are the ones who kiss scrapes better, make a favorite cake for a birthday, and do everything else in their power to make sure kids grow up right.
This doesn't change when parents separate. Children need their mothers to play an active role in their upbringing. In order to do this, you need to make sure your parental rights are protected.
A really good way to protect your parental rights is to use Custody X Change.
In the past, good mothers were almost guaranteed to get custody of their kids, while the even the best fathers were given an "every other weekend" visitation schedule.
This is no longer the case. More and more courts are in favor of joint custody and most states have laws that prevent the court from considering the gender of a parent when making a custody ruling.
You should never take for granted that you will simply be awarded custody. You should stand up and defend your parental rights.
When parents are involved in custody proceedings, most courts will ask them to make a parenting plan.
A parenting plan should contain all of the information (including schedules) that the parents will follow as they raise their child apart.
When parents are able to work together and agree on a plan, most courts will review the parenting plans submitted by the parents to ensure the best interests of the children are being met and then approve them.
When parents are unable to agree to the terms of their parenting plan / custody arrangements, the judge or the court will usually create one for them, though they will consider any proposed parenting plans submitted by the parents.
Whether you are in agreement with the other parent or not, it is important to submit a thoroughly detailed, well-organized parenting plan to the court.
This is why you need Custody X Change.
Custody X Change is software designed to help you create a complete parenting plan.
It's easy to use. You just sit at your computer and follow the steps of the program, entering the requested information. With Custody X Change you can create a comprehensive parenting plan that includes:
- A child custody calendar with a repeating cycle of custody that also includes holidays and vacation time
- Stipulations regarding the division of responsibilities toward the children
- Provisions regarding decision making authority
- Reports that show the time-share percentage that each parent is supposed to have the children
- Reports that show how much time each parent actually had the children
- Methods for dispute resolution
- Methods for modifying the parenting plan should the children's needs change in the future
- Any other stipulations or provisions regarding the children that you wish to include
When you use Custody X Change to create your parenting plan, you can feel confident that you won't leave out any important information. The software covers everything you will need to include. However, if you wish to add any additional stipulations, there is space to do so.
After you have completed your parenting plan, you will be able to print out the professional looking documents to share with your ex, a mediator, or the court.
It is very important that children have frequent, ongoing contact with both of their parents (as long as both parents are willing and able to properly care for their children). Joint custody is a wonderful option that allows the child to spend ample amounts of time with both parents.
However, joint custody does not necessarily mean that you have to divide the child's time equally.
As your child's parent, you have intimate knowledge of your child's needs. You should be able to create a custody schedule that meets your child's needs while being fair to both you and your ex.
The best way to ensure you are given enough time with your children is to work with the other parent to create the custody schedule.
This might not always be an easy task, but you should make every effort to reach an agreement with the other parent.
You can use the Custody X Change time-share percentage reports to see exactly how much time each of you will have with the child.
You are getting divorced for a reason. One of the last things you probably want to do it to sit down with your ex and try to work out a compromise.
You can use Custody X Change to avoid face to face negotiations with your ex. An easier way to reach an agreement is to:
- Use Custody X Change to create the parenting plan you would like to have
- Print out a copy of the parenting plan and give it to the other parent
- Ask the other parent to review the documents and to note any changes that he would like made
- Retrieve the reviewed documents from your ex and carefully consider the proposed changes
- Edit your parenting plan to either accommodate the requests of the other parent or offer an alternative
- Re-submit the proposed parenting plan to the other parent for further review
- Continue to make changes to the plan until you are unable to agree on any more items
When you are dealing with documents instead of your ex, it is a lot easier to make rational decisions regarding the care and custody of your children.
Once you have reached a stand-still, you present your proposed parenting plan to the judge or mediator with the portions you agree on highlighted so that they may be included while your proposed issues are considered.
The main concern of any family law court is the best interests of the children. When making a decision regarding the care and custody of children, the court considers all of the factors that affect the child's health and well-being.
These factors may include:
- The history of the children's care. If you have been your children's primary caregiver, there is a good chance that the court will want to help maintain this since it provides them with stability.
- The requests of the parents. If you both are in agreement, the court will most likely grant your request. If you are not able to reach an agreement, the court will consider each of your requests before ruling.
- The sincerity of the requests of the parents. If one parent has had little to do with the children and suddenly is requesting full custody, the court will likely discern that this request is an attempt to avoid paying child support or to receive more child support.
- Each parent's ability to properly care for the children. A parent should not only be able to meet the children's basic physical needs, such as food, clothing, medical care, and shelter, but should also be able to fulfill the emotional needs of the children by providing them with love, affection, and attention.
- The children's adjustment to their home, school, and community. If children are thriving in their environment, the court will try to maintain that. If a change is would be better for the children, the court will take that into account.
- Any history of abuse or neglect. If there are circumstances that may be dangerous to the children, the court will protect the children from harm. This also includes substance abuse.
- Any relevant factors that may have an effect on the child. The court will consider all of the factors that affect the child and take all of the circumstances into account when making a decision.
You should keep these factors in mind as you create your parenting plan. Download a free trial of Custody X Change and start protecting your rights as a mother today.