One frustrating part of being a family law lawyer is when clients hire you and it's too late to prevent some of the problems.
One of those hard-to-fix problems is the parenting status quo.
The "status quo" is a huge factor in custody cases once they go to court. Judges pay great attention to what sort of schedule the children have followed since separation.
The "status quo" is a huge factor in custody cases once they go to court. Judges pay great attention to what sort of schedule the children have followed since separation.
If mom moved out of the house and began taking the children only every second weekend, this will become the status quo. After only a few months of this status quo, it can be very difficult to convince a Judge to grant mom half time or full-time care of the children on an interim basis.
The status quo can be entrenched even if it was set up for only short-term, practical reasons (mom was staying with a friend, working out of town etc).
Basically, if the status quo is working, Judges are reluctant to risk changing it. If the other parent can show that the status quo is not working (ie, school grades are dropping, medical needs are not being addressed, CFS is involved) they may have more success convincing a Judge to change the current schedule.
As such, the parent who moves out of the family home has to ensure that they can live with whatever schedule is agreed upon for the children. They may be stuck with it for quite some time.
From the perspective of the parent who stays in the house with the children, they too must make sure the status quo is one they can live with long-term. For example, if dad moves out and the parents agree to try shared custody with equal time for each, it can be extremely difficult for mom to change her mind later and reduce dad`s time to weekends. There may not be much even the best lawyer can do if the status quo has been in place for some time and there is no independent evidence that it is not working.
Basically, if the status quo is working, Judges are reluctant to risk changing it. If the other parent can show that the status quo is not working (ie, school grades are dropping, medical needs are not being addressed, CFS is involved) they may have more success convincing a Judge to change the current schedule.
As such, the parent who moves out of the family home has to ensure that they can live with whatever schedule is agreed upon for the children. They may be stuck with it for quite some time.
From the perspective of the parent who stays in the house with the children, they too must make sure the status quo is one they can live with long-term. For example, if dad moves out and the parents agree to try shared custody with equal time for each, it can be extremely difficult for mom to change her mind later and reduce dad`s time to weekends. There may not be much even the best lawyer can do if the status quo has been in place for some time and there is no independent evidence that it is not working.
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