Gaining Custody - A Father's Perspective - written by Dr John Penrose

It's a tug-of-war. All the evidence, all the allergations. Everyone has an opinion who is to blame. The mother's lawyer rightly highlights who has spent the most time with the children. However, does this mean she will gain custody?

Don't wait for the pain, grief and potential loss of having your child taken from you simply because of the prejudice of being male. Don't allow yourself to be brainwashed by your ex-wife's judgements or pleas. Empathise, don't sympathise. The judge will not automatically default to her side.

Although laws per state can change, and it's important to know what those are. In general though, neither parent starts off as the favorite. Long gone are the days when the only right a man had, in respect of his kids, was to pay maintenance. Instead of being discriminated against by the legal system and in the process bled dry by lawyers fees, know your rights. By following expert advice you can significantly increase the chances of you gaining custody.

The number one criteria both parents know they have to satisfy is: what is in the best interest of the child? In practise however, custody battles are rarely ever that simple or straight forward. Custody and visitation rights can be much easier these days if you plan and prepare your case thoroughly, guided by a trusted expert.

From the vast research done by experts specialising in child custody, fathers can and should arm themselves with the proven strategies that have worked in other successful cases. A caring, well prepared father who knows what the judge is looking for will be more successful in gaining custody.

Most fathers don't know that child custody and visitation cases can often be won or lost in the correct compilation of the legal application long before the court hearing itself.

But how do you know what to include in the legal application to give you the best chance of success?

If you are currently involved in a custody dispute, or likely to be, there is regularly updated information available that will help you present your strongest case. These in depth reports are comparatively inexpensive and easy to understand, even by the layman. These direct you and your lawyer to prepare your best case possible, to give you the best chance of gaining custody.

It is vital to know in advance how specific psychological and legal strategies, and types of allegations work (or fail to work), both in the court room as well as in out-of-court negotiations.

Gaining custody of your child is too important to leave to chance. Be proactive. Just by researching you can uncover the key factors that you can influence that will ultimately decide the fate of your child.

You need to be prepared in advance in order to give yourself the best chance of gaining custody of your child.

You'll need to answers all the questions you ever wanted to ask, plus several critical questions you didn't even know to ask!

Some questions you need to research...

- How can I avoid wasted legal costs?
- What do judges look for when they make family court decisions?
- What evidence, and in what format do I need to start collating now?
- How does the family legal system work?
- What are the key behaviours that differentiate parents who do well in custody disputes versus those who don't?
- How do I control costs and still get a comprehensive custody evaluation done?
- Are there any state-specific custody laws that affect gaining custody of my child?
- How do I present the evidence in a way where I might not even need to go to court?
- How can I check what my lawyer is suggesting is correct?
- How can I avoid the single biggest mistake most fathers make?

It may take you a while to research and find the most respected experts out there, the real specialists with years of experience in child custody cases.

If you invest the time, the answers are available, and the benefits of following these proven strategies will far exceed the emotional and financial cost of a potentially tortuous tug-of-war that might otherwise prevent you from gaining custody of your child.