An integral part of life is ups and downs. Those are experienced everywhere from your job, marriage to your family. This topic today is a bit ungrateful and sad but as the split-ups are a part of any marriage, and therefore life as a whole, we have to address it.
Whenever a marriage falls apart there are some steps you have to do. First thing is to get divorced if you can’t do anything about reconciliation, and the second thing is division. If your marriage hasn’t sprout any children things are a bit easy but if you have kids and you are going through a divorce then you will going to go through something called Child Custody Hearing.
These things tend to get difficult and you have to be prepared for something like this. Preparation has to be both mentally and physically. You can do this by yourself, representing yourself in the court or you can have a council doing this job for you. Whatever you chose you to have some information to make this as clean as possible.
These things are never easy for you or your children but it is necessary to do this if you want some closure on the previous part of life. Some things make this easy for all of you and some people can make this easy for all. One example of those are Trusted Legal Solutions.
Steps before the court
1. Not allowing other side time with children
Source: healthline.com
Many make a few mistakes before they even get to a courtroom and endure the Child Custody hearing. One of the most common mistakes to be avoided is not allowing other side time with children. The court here is supposed to decide on who is best to foster that parent-child relationship and if one side doesn’t get any time than it is a hard choice. Unless you have a strong reason to not allow the other side time with children, do not do this. Allow them time with children and allow the court to see how they managed during that time. Withholding kids out of spite is the number one mistake when it comes to these things.
2. Disparaging the other parent
Another mistake most parents do whether out of spite or sheer anger. This is a highly counterproductive thing and it hurts your children the most. This is something you should never do and if you do this then be sure that this will end up in court testifying against you and it will be strong opposition to your case. If there are any problems, I either parent than the best thing is to say or hint anything. Let the children see things as they are for themselves and let them tell it the way they understood it. This is the best thing you can do.
Steps at the court
1. Be prepared
Source: communitycare.co.uk
As these things legally go the person that field for the action that is pending will present their case first. Whoever is the defendant will go second, but you will both have to have your cases straight and make opening statements. This is what the judge will expect. Now, you have to have a few things in order if you want your case to succeed. The most important one is your witnesses. You will have to have someone willing to testify to your account and you will have to have an order in which your witnesses are called out. Also, you have to mindful of the time you have to question and allow them to testify. You will not have days for this, meaning that these types of trials are very time-limiting. Practising with witnesses and preparation will be the key to success.
2. Have a strong case
In these types of trials, there will be cross-examinations, meaning that the other side will have a chance to crack your case by cross-examining your witnesses trying to crumble your case. This is why it is important to prepare good and have a strong case about the other side. Watch what you say and behave and try not to get into a trap where they might lead you to the only Yes or No answers where you cannot explain yourself. Make sure you triple check every statement, every fact and try and predict possible holes in your case. This will allow you to make corrections in time and make less of a mess while you or your witnesses are on the stand.
3. Don’t make unsubstantiated allegations
Source: familyaid.co.uk
This is another thing that parents do when in custody hearings or battles. We know how these things can be stressful and how a parent’s instinct makes you do anything to provide the best for your children, but allegations that cannot hold up in court are the worst thing you can do for your case. This is something many lawyers advise and you have to take it as seriously as possible. False accusations that cannot stick and are seriously grinned at by the court, so please be careful what you say and can you back that up at any time.
4. Have a good closing word
As much as the opening statement is important the closing argument carries pretty much the same weight. Here you have to sum up the whole situation and chew it for the judge and the jury once more. You have to stress out the important parts and all those facts that spoke in your defence. The closing statements sometimes are responsible for the verdict because if you have the skill and if you draw in the jury than with careful phrasing you can only add more to your case.
For the conclusion, we have to advise you to, if you want to stand for yourself, be sure to be very informed. Rules and regulations, especially in law, change a lot and you have to be as informed as possible. You also have to look out for law and regulations that differ from state to state and make sure to know your judge because some of them have certain preferences regarding the trial flow in their courtroom.
If this all seems a bit overwhelming, we would also strongly advise getting a professional with a lot of experience and let them do the job they know best. Only then will your only job be to inform your council of everything you know and abide by his/her instructions. Most of the weight is on their shoulder which means you can focus on other things.
