Many people find legal help to be beneficial in situations like this involving sensitive topics such as divorce and child custody. Since this is such an emotional time in a person’s life, an attorney will be able to help with the burden of court and legal issues. Even though an attorney isn’t required, having a lawyer help you could be most beneficial to you since they will be able to learn and understand your specific situation as a family lawyer can explain.
The way that the child custody process works is that one parent, the petitioner, will serve the other parent, the respondent, custody papers. This is the Petition in Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship which is also referred to as a SAPCR. Once you have been served with the SAPCR you have a certain amount of time to respond with an answer, which is a legal form that is filed by the respondent in the case. Filing an answer ensures that you protect your right to be involved in the case and have a say in the issues discussed.
With specific circumstances it may be more urgent that you get an attorney to help you with your case. For example, if you believe that your child is in danger or their safety is at risk then you need to bring that to your attorney’s attention and they can relay it to the judge in order to help them make a decision based on what’s best for the child and their wellbeing. If needed, your attorney can help you get a protective order over you and or your child to make sure you’re both out of harm’s way as explained by the Brandy Austin Law Firm.
If your child is kept from you by their other parent or their other parent keeps changing their mind on your verbal agreements regarding custody, then it might be helpful to hire a lawyer. If one day they want to share custody and then the next they want to try to deem you as an unfit parent, this shows that if you try to take them to court then they might flake again. Your lawyer
will help portray you as fit for parental duty and once the judge has come to a decision, there will be legal consequences for not following the court order regarding your child’s custody. If you don’t know much about family law then it will be much more difficult to try to navigate this case on your own without legal help. Child custody cases involve a lot of time, research, and experience which you may not have but a professional in the legal field will have. Additionally, if the other parent has hired a lawyer you’ll be significantly disadvantaged since your legal knowledge likely won’t compare to the attorney’s.
An attorney is not required in custody cases, however it is a good idea to at least consider an attorney if any of these circumstances apply to you and your family. The work that goes into custody cases will be difficult to handle on top of any emotional distress you may be experiencing from strain on your relationship with your child’s parent or with your child themself and an attorney helping can lift that burden for you if that’s the path you choose to take. Reach out to an attorney near you for more information.