News of a divorce is likely to upset your child. But yelling and screaming at your spouse will not put your child at ease. Choosing mediation over arguments is one big step toward putting your child first. If you are getting a divorce, mediation can greatly benefit the kids. Research shows that children tend to do better after a divorce when they have parents who communicate and compromise without tensions rising.

Eliminating Additional Turmoil

Mediation involves a third party to help parents come up with answers relating to custody issues. A mediator – who might also be an attorney – will take into account the big picture as it relates to divorce and attempt to guide the conversation in a productive direction. A bitter custody battle can be traumatizing for a child, but if the child sees their parents communicating it can help reduce their emotional turmoil. So even if you do not see eye to eye with your soon-to-be-ex, an experienced mediator may help you stay on track and ensure that discussions are less stressful.

Mediation Can Lead to Better Co-Parenting Compared to Litigation

When children are involved, the parents will be a part of each other’s lives forever. Meditation teaches parents effective communication, flexibility, and negotiating skills. It is ideal for both parents to play an active role in the life of their child, and it teaches parents how to better compromise for the sake of the child.

It is only natural for grandparents to want to step in and seek custody of their grandchildren if something is not right with the family. More than seven million grandparents are currently living with a grandchild, and about 33 percent serve as the child’s primary caregiver. While you may think that your precious grandchildren are better off with blood relatives, it can be challenging to pursue your grandparent’s rights in Texas and get physical custody unless there are extreme circumstances involved.

Timing Is Key

The rights of parents take priority under Texas law. But, a parent’s actions can lead to their parental rights being terminated. For a grandparent to assume custody, the child’s physical and emotional well-being needs to be in jeopardy. In extreme circumstances, if the parent poses a danger to the child, Child Protective Services in Texas will place the child with the grandparents temporarily. You would need to act quickly. When a child’s best interest is not taken into account by the parent, a court will be more likely to grant custody to a grandparent who can provide a loving home.

Instances When You May Seek Custody of Your Grandchildren

The court may give a grandparent custody if at least one of the parents had their parental rights terminated. Here are specific instances when grandparents can raise their grandchildren. One of the following would need to apply to the parent: 

Most divorcing couples would probably agree that by the time they began getting divorced, their interpersonal relationship had mostly fallen apart. This loss of respect and compassion can make negotiations about important issues like property division and child custody, which can feel zero-sum to both parties, particularly difficult.

When a relationship is particularly high-conflict and the couple shares children under age 18, the prospect of continuing to co-parent peacefully after the divorce is finalized may be inconceivable to both parties. While many divorced couples prefer to interact as little as possible, some actually need strict boundaries around their interactions for the sake of protecting each other and the children. If you are considering divorce in Texas and this sounds familiar to you, you may want to look into parallel parenting. 

What is Parallel Parenting? 

Even when parents do not get along well, children still benefit from having both parents involved in their lives unless a parent poses a danger of abuse and neglect. And despite their dislike of each other and their longstanding personal disagreements, most parents continue to seek warm relationships with their children after divorce. 

For a father going through a divorce or a child custody case, the assumption may be that the mother will have the upper hand when decisions on child custody are being made. While this was certainly true in the past, under current Texas law, both parents have the opportunity to pursue equal child custody. Although no outcome is certain and circumstances change from case to case, it is important for a father to understand his rights in a divorce or child custody case. By working with an experienced fathers’ rights attorney, you can pursue your right to play an active role in your child’s life.

The Importance of Establishing Paternity

If you are not married to your child’s mother and would like to seek partial custody, the first step is to make sure that your paternity is legally acknowledged. If the mother of the child agrees that you are the father, you can both sign an Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP) form. To establish paternity in cases when a biological relationship is uncertain, you may need to take a paternity test or adjudicate your paternity through the court. Once you establish paternity, you can legally seek the right to shared custody.

Factors in a Texas Child Custody Case

During the divorce process or after the establishment of paternity, you may be able to work together to agree on a joint managing conservatorship. This plan should make decisions on a visitation schedule for both parents, the child’s primary residence, how the parents will share decision-making, and how to modify and enforce the order. This plan is subject to review and approval by the court, which will review it to make sure it meets the best interests of your child.  

During a divorce with children, much of the negotiations and mediations are focused on the visitation or physical custody of the children as well as the power to make important decisions about the children. In Texas law, these are known as possessory conservatorship and managing conservatorship, respectively. In many cases, the parents can work together to create a parenting plan that meets the children’s needs and addresses possessory conservatorship and managing conservatorship. However, in some cases, parents cannot come to an agreement, and the decisions may be made by court order. It is essential to hire a child custody lawyer experienced in contested custody cases and who knows the factors the court will consider when making its decision.

Factors in a Contested Child Custody Case

Through negotiations or mediation, parents can often create a parenting plan which addresses issues such as the children’s primary residence, a visitation schedule with each parent, how the parents will share decision-making responsibilities, and how the order will be enforced and modified if necessary in the future. The court will approve this agreement if it meets the best interests of the children.

In this contested child custody case, a judge will weigh several factors in determining how managing conservatorship and possessory conservatorship will be divided. Throughout the process, the children’s best interests will be paramount. These factors can include: