Getting divorced is just the tip of the iceberg, especially if you have kids involved in the picture too. Now comes the next hurdle and that is child custody. Usually, it involves a battle in the court where both parties’ child custody lawyers do everything to win the custody. But can you get child custody or agree on everything without going to court and hiring a lawyer? Here is what to know.

Courtless Child Custody – Is It Possible?

When it comes to child custody, you really have to take a step back and think for a bit. Going to court is never a cake walk and it can be lengthy and very exhausting for a lot of people, but sometimes, it is necessary.

Why do you go to court? Have you ever asked yourself this question? Going to court is the only option when you just can’t get on the same page with your spouse about child custody. This is a very sensitive matter and every parent wants their children to stay with them. But when it’s parent against parent, there are going to be times when there will be conflict.

So, if you guys are on good terms and you have talked all of the difficult things out, then you can bypass the court process. A court is there to keep the best interests of your child in mind. They don’t make decisions based on emotions as a parent. All the court wants is to give the child a good life and they hand the kid over to the parent who can make it possible.

So, while not going to court for a child custody case is possible, you have to be in a very ideal situation to skip all of this and go straight to discussing custody.

Things To Keep In Mind

Here are some things that you have to keep in mind when it comes to fighting child custody cases without the involvement of the court.

You Have Communicated With Your Partner

Nullifying the option of going to court to fight for custody is only possible when you and your partner have talked long and hard about everything. This is not a divorce. This is far more different from anything that involves just you.

This is about your child, so if you want to know what to do about your child’s custody case, then you have to sit down and work your differences out. This will allow you guys to reach a conclusion.

You Know The Ins And Outs

If you don’t want the court to get involved in your child’s custody case, then not only do you have to take a seat with your spouse and work through the challenging discussions, but you also have to know what to expect when you go ahead and file for custody.

Avoiding the court completely is never an option. What you’ll be avoiding is the intervention of the court making the decisions, because those have already been discussed between the parents. So, that is something you need to know before you jump in.

Are Allegations Involved?

This is a very messy situation to be in and it can be very hard to avoid the court completely. You can’t just talk things out with your partner if you guys have gone through a messy divorce and there were allegations like abuse and neglect involved.

You can’t ever expect to make a deal with this kind of person and it is actually better that you get the law involved in this, because you don’t want to be taking things over on your own. This is why evaluating your own situation is good at first before diving into what you should do.

Is The Family Dynamic Volatile?

This is also another very unfortunate situation, but it is what it is. If the reason for your divorce was because of family disputes and a volatile environment that was affecting you and the kids badly, and one of the parents was the instigator, then you have to know that avoiding the court will end up being more bad than good.

You are in a tough situation and if you don’t protect yourself, then you can hit a wall after some time. This is why you really need to know what situation you are in before you decide whether to involve the court or not.

Can You Get Full Custody?

No matter what you do to avoid the involvement of the court in child custody cases, the chances of you getting full custody will be next to none. A full custody usually means getting both sole legal custody and sole physical custody. So, you can’t possibly get full custody of your child without involving the court. No parent wants to let go of their child completely unless it’s a willing process, so you have to know that you won’t be able to get full custody.

This is just wishful thinking and you will end up hurting your expectations if you think about it a lot and end up getting nothing. So, it’s better to swallow the bitter pill at first to secure better odds of getting child custody.

Why Is Going To Court And Hiring A Lawyer Better?

Even though going courtless is an option, you can’t really be sure if it is going to be good for you or not. This is why you need to know why it is a good decision to go to court and hire a family lawyer Fairfax VA if you think that your ex-spouse is not agreeing on anything or if you think that the other party is being unfair.

They Do All The Work

Getting a lawyer is actually really great. There are a lot of things that you can’t do when it comes to a child custody case. When you have a lawyer, you can go ahead and give them the reins and they will do everything that you have to do if you go for legal representation.

This makes everything so much easier and you won’t have to scramble through paperwork every single time. The lawyer will do all of the work for you.

They’re Knowledgeable

Family lawyers take on cases like yours every single day. They are experts in their line of work and they are people who know most of the situations that can occur in no time. This just proves that they have better experience than you, who is probably doing this for the first time.

So, instead of trying to figure out whether you could make a good lawyer or not, it is better that you get an attorney who has experience in family law and cases of child custody. You can rest assured that your case is in safe and capable hands.

Prevention Of Mistakes

When you go ahead and do something that you haven’t done ever, then you’re bound to make mistakes and in the courtroom, mistakes mean two things – either the case is going to run really long, or you’ll end up losing. This is a risk that you shouldn’t take, especially when your kids’ custody is on the line.

You want the process to be streamlined. This is why getting a lawyer will be beneficial for you. They know all of the things to avoid and they’ll also try their best to wrap things up quickly.

Conclusion

You can opt for a custody agreement out of court but it needs a court approval as well and is approved if it’s in the best interest of the child. And if the court does not approve it, you may have to go the regular route of fighting for child custody in the court. In any case, you do need a child custody attorney Fairfax VA. Make sure to find a good one.