In a perfect world, child custody issues are resolved amicably, quickly, and always in the best interest of the child. Too often though, especially where child custody is concerned, resolving those issues becomes a long, drawn-out affair with allegations and recriminations. Part of those allegations can include the dating life of one spouse or another. Here is how your dating life can potentially affect your custody arrangement with your children and why you need a child custody lawyer in San Antonio, TX, if you’re mired in a custody battle.
Child Exposure
This is fairly obvious, or at least it should be. If you’re dating a criminal or drug user, it exposes our children to all sorts of unsavory elements of life. It also can be interpreted as an indicator of how you run your life and what you would potentially expose your children to. The only ways to avoid this is to hire the best divorce lawyer in San Antonio, Texas and to make sure your significant other is not a detriment to your case.
Criminal behavior is not the only child exposure issues associated with child custody. If you’re dating a person with violent tendencies, a record of violent criminal actions or domestic abuse, those can be used as a factor in deciding how you likely will care for your children. The important thing to remember here is that the court will do what the Judge thinks is in the best interest of the children regardless of what you do or do not do or whether you have the best family divorce attorney in San Antonio, Texas.
Dating History
In some cases, dating history can be a factor in determining child custody. Dating someone with a criminal record, for instance, can be seen as evidence of poor judgment on your part. This might not be fair, but the court is not about fairness in this case; the court is concerned with the well being of the children. As such, it might impose restrictions on your access to your children or the visitation rules that govern your visits. If that happens, you will need to have the best family divorce lawyer in San Antonio, Texas on your side.
Absence While Dating
Relationships are a lot of work and that applies to your relationship with your dating partner as well as your children. If the former gets in the way of the latter, your ex can use that against you in terms of custody and visitation arrangements. As a parent, you have a responsibility to be there for them, first and foremost, and if the person you are dating consumes all your time, causing you to miss out on important events, it can and will be used against you.
Using Him / Her Against Him / Her
Judges are almost uniformly unimpressed by ex-spouses who trash each other. They have heard every story in the book, including the one you feel you must tell the judge to help your child custody case. The new person should also not be used as an influencer. Trashing your ex while mentioning how awesome the new one is will not help your case. Stick to the facts of the case, not what you feel, think or have an opinion on.
If your criticism of the ex is too harsh it can even work against you. Some critique, though, might be appropriate. If you have hired the best lawyer for divorce in San Antonio, Texas you should rely on them for advice on how to get that information to the judge in a way that will not hurt your case.
Divorces can be messy, particularly when there are kids involved. Adding to that mix is your and your ex’s dating life if there is anything even slightly off-kilter about it. By making sure you have the best child custody lawyer San Antonio, TX, you can make sure that normal life behavior will not affect your custody arrangement.