You might have heard advice about how you should try to negotiate your divorce or seek compromise, especially when children are involved. There are situations where that is appropriate, but sometimes fighting tooth and nail for custody is crucial.
Here are some of those occasions:
1. Your spouse poses a threat to your children
Courts generally aim to allow children to spend time with both parents. Yet, sometimes a parent (or their new partner) could be a danger to the children. It could be through outright abuse or because the parent has drug or alcohol issues that make them incapable of keeping the child safe.
2. Your spouse is highly manipulative
Maybe your spouse was highly controlling and manipulative of you the entire marriage. Yet, no one suspected it because your spouse has an innate ability to charm everyone they meet.
You cannot risk trying to negotiate your divorce with someone who always persuades you to give them what they want. You will need aggressive representation to show a court the type of person they really are.
3. You’ve had a bad run of luck, and a court may view you poorly
You work hard at being a parent, and your child knows how much you love them. Yet some outsiders could see things differently. They might think you are a lousy parent just because you made a few mistakes in the past. If you fear a judge might view you in a poor light (or your spouse may use your past against you to get a greater share of custody), it’s crucial to have someone with the experience to fight your custody case.