Divorce can be an emotionally challenging experience, and dealing with a child custody battle can make it even more difficult. Not all parents are capable of making sound judgments and providing adequate care for their children. If one parent poses a threat to a child’s well-being, a judge may award full custody to the other parent.
You may be planning to request sole custody, but you are concerned about how your spouse will react. They may lose their temper when faced with adversity or stressful situations. You want to do what’s best for your child, but you’re unsure about the best approach. Depending on your circumstances, it may be wise to fight for sole custody if you believe that your soon-to-be ex-spouse is unfit to parent your child due to illness, addiction, anger management issues or any other reason.
How to prove your spouse should not gain custody
Certain kinds of data have the potential to influence child custody decisions. For example, images, audio files, texts or voicemails that exhibit your ex-spouse behaving in ways that are harmful could potentially strengthen your case:
- You can utilize drug arrest, DUI or DWI records as evidence of the other parent’s addiction struggles.
- Photographs, witness statements, police reports and medical records are examples of evidence that may be used to prove that you and your child are victims of domestic violence.
- Medical records and sworn testimony from doctors and nurses might be used to prove your ex-spouse is incapable of parenting in the event of sickness.
You may also want to gather proof of unsuitable living circumstances maintained by the other parent. Concerns may include:
- emotional, physical, medical or educational neglect
- sexual, emotional or physical abuse
A history of frequent visits from child protective services, for example, would be a huge red flag for the court. The bottom line is that if you believe your spouse is incapable of caring for your child and want to seek full parental custody, you’ll want to gather evidence and seek legal guidance to review your options.