Free Child Custody Help for Single Mothers – Need To Hire Free Child Custody Lawyer, Free child custody, Free child custody lawyers for fathers and mothers exist, I Need a Lawyer for Help with Child Custody Matters – One of the toughest things that a person can go through in their life is a divorce. Not only is it tremendously inconvenient in terms of splitting finances, assets, moving towards a whole new life, but the emotional turmoil that it brings is also unparalleled. This situation is made much worse when the couple has a child. While a divorce is between two parties, perhaps the person who is most adversely affected in a divorce is a child or the children of the divorcing couple. While a couple may divorce due to a variety of reasons, for a child, to be able to understand that their parents will no longer live with each other is tremendously difficult to accept. This can not only cause significant emotional trauma to the child if not handled properly but can also stunt the development of the child in extreme cases. Therefore, if a couple has a child, ensuring the safe custody of the child during a divorce should be a priority.
For most children, a mother is tremendously important. When it comes to the daily tasks that a child has to perform, taking care of them, cooking for them, helping them with their homework, mothers are usually more hands-on than fathers. If it is an infant or a toddler, it is almost a universally accepted fact that the mother should maintain custody. If you are going through a divorce, and you are the mother of a child, you may wonder whether it is easy or likely for you to get the custody of your child.
What Does Child Custody Mean?
Custody according to the Thesaurus meaning means safekeeping, protection, and guardianship. The legal meaning of the term custody is not very far from this description either – it means to place the child with a guardian, usually, until the child becomes a legal major, or until emancipation. Of all the other aspects affecting a divorce, the question of child custody is the most sensitive. While it is true that in an ideal situation, a child might benefit from the presence of both the parents, in case of a divorce, this is not always possible. Hence, it becomes tremendously important to restore this stability for the child to ensure that the development of the child is not adversely affected due to the divorce in any manner.
Why Should I Hire A Free Child Custody Lawyer?
Unfortunately, if you are going through a divorce, it probably means that your relationship with your ex-partner is no longer great. It is not uncommon for an ex-partner to use a child as leverage in divorce proceedings. Therefore, it is tremendously important that you have adequate legal representation to ensure that you retain the custody of your child in the event of a divorce. Legal representation is even more important for those mothers who do not have an income – because a lack of income can be demonstrated as a point as to why you should not retain custody. Hence, hiring a lawyer can benefit you in the following ways.
Your case may be very complex
Not all legal cases are simple. If you end up making the wrong decisions, it may be very hard for you to obtain the custody of your child from a court. Therefore, not only should you be adept with the law, but you should also be able to understand the law enough to leverage it in favor of your current circumstances. Very few people are likely to have this level of knowledge, but a lawyer, on the other hand, is trained to deal with these exact issues.
Interjurisdictional divorce cases
In many situations, often, one partner leaves the jurisdiction of the state with the child in tow. The parent left behind may be lost and in extreme emotional turmoil wondering how to handle the situation effectively. Family and custody lawyers usually see a lot of inter-jurisdictional cases and are aware as to how to handle such as situation effectively, and how to obtain custody should such a scenario arise.
Ensuring the safety of your child
The safety of the child is not limited to physical safety alone, it also includes emotional safety. If your child is affected by the divorce, one of the best things to do is to provide hi or her a stable home. Similarly, the reasons that contributed to the divorce (such as in the case of an alcoholic partner, or an abusive partner), it becomes imperative to ensure the safety of your child. By hiring the services of a lawyer, in such a situation, apart from ensuring that you get the custody of your child, they can also help in ensuring that you and your child/children remain safe.
Being ensured the company of your children
No one understands selfless love better than a mother. Whether you have borne the child for 9 months or adopted them, no love is purer in the world than the love of a mother and the child. In such a situation, it is obvious that being deprived of the company of your child on whom you have dedicated your entire life can be heart-breaking. This is the exact reason as to why you should hire a lawyer. A lawyer can ensure that such a situation does not occur, and that should you require, you can either get full custody, or formal visitation rights, based on your preferences and circumstances.
In case you have erred in some manner
If you have been accused of some error by your ex-partner in some manner, in such a scenario, the court may prefer to give the custody to the father unless you hire adequate legal representation. Situations that can lead to this are DUIs, drug addictions, alcohol addictions, adultery, abuse, or a host of other circumstances. You need to put on your best front to the court to ensure that you gain custody. Hiring a lawyer can help you do so.
In case your ex hires a lawyer
If your ex hires a lawyer and you do not have anyone to represent you, you are automatically at a disadvantage. This is even more of an imperative point to take note of especially in cases of custody battles. You do not want to go unprepared in front of an opponent who not only has a good amount of awareness about your case but also about the law.
How Do I Get A Free Child Custody Lawyer?
If you are from a low-income background, several organizations can help you with your custody struggles. Some of them are as follows.
Through Child Custody Legal Aid
Legal aid organizations do great work by providing legal support to those from low-income backgrounds. The organizations understand that the relationship between a child and a parent is a special one, and seek to reunite the child with their parent, even if the parent in question does not have money to pay for legal services. They are effective in doing so in most cases as they specialize in custody law. If you are looking for representation in your custody case, you can approach a legal aid cell in your vicinity and see if they have a lawyer who is willing to represent you.
Agencies That Provide Free Legal Services
There are plenty of agencies that provide free legal services for a host of issues, including for child custody arrangements. While many of these organizations do not have the sufficient manpower to go to court to fight your case, they do the next best thing – they help you prepare your case, coach you on the legal technicalities, and collate requisite information in a manner that will ensure that you can retain the custody of your child.
Governmental Agencies For Child Custody
There are plenty of governmental and quasi-governmental organizations that also provide help to struggling parents who are engaged in custody battles. They provide a tremendous amount of free or less expensive legal services who cannot afford to hire the services of an expensive custody lawyer. Furthermore, if you are not looking for representation, but just some information on how to proceed with your case, you can approach any of these agencies and they can help you chart out a path or a roadmap to ensure that you come out victorious in your quest for custody.
NGOs That Provide Free Family Law Legal Advice
Family law is the branch of law that deals with questions of custody. There are plenty of free legal aid cells and NGOs that specialize in providing help and information related to custody to parents who do not have the requisite income to hire a lawyer. Depending on the organization, they usually either have email IDs or contact numbers for you to call and inquire about whatever you want to or failing which, they are always ready to help out if you approach them personally. A quick Google search should be able to give you information about such organizations in your vicinity.
What Are The Various Important Factors That I Must Consider Before Applying For Child Custody?
Say you have gotten yourself a lawyer, or have understood how to go ahead with the quest for custody yourself and you have armed yourself with information about the law – there are still a few other factors that you must take into account before applying for the custody of the child. Some of these factors are enumerated below.
- Ensure that you take into account the choice of the child, should the child be above the age of 13. Even if you apply for custody, if your child is over 13 and chooses to stay with your spouse, all your efforts will likely go in vain. Courts usually award custody based on the preference of the child if the child is old enough to decide for themselves.
- Have a plan for your child ready. This should include aspects such as education (potentially a college fund), how you plan to feed your child, the school you want to send them to, their extra-curricular, personal space, etc.
- Ensure that you take into account the emotions that your child is going through, and how they have been affected by the divorce. If required, consider therapy.
- The environment in which you are seeking to keep the child should be safe and relatively comfortable – it should be free from abuse, drugs, other unsafe elements.
- Consider taking the opinion of an expert witness who can testify on your behalf.
With all of these factors, hiring the services of a lawyer can be tremendously helpful. Ensure that you discuss your concerns, shortcomings, and also advantages that you have over your partner with your lawyer in-depth to ensure that you have a good chance at winning your custody case.
In The Unfortunate Event That You Do Lose Custody, Do Not Give Up
Unfortunately, despite your best efforts, you could end up losing custody in some cases. This may be because your ex-partner has more money, better representation, or a slew of other factors. In such a heartbreaking scenario, while one might feel instantly hopeless, remember that all is not lost. You can always sue for visitation until you have a chance at gaining custody again. If you are on relatively decent terms with your partner, you could even try and set up a custody arrangement outside of the one imposed by the court, but get it attested by the court. You can also always keep in touch with your children with the means of technology.
Conclusion
A divorce is an emotionally testing time for a child, as much, if not more than the adults involved. If the child is old enough, explain the situation to them clearly and effectively. Ensure that you have legal representation for your custody battles. If you do not have the funds to hire legal representation, either approach an organization that can provide you with such representation, or that can at least help you fight your case effectively. By doing so, you can ensure that you always keep the company of your child/children that you love so much.
