In an ideal world, you and your child’s other parent would be able to negotiate a child custody arrangement that supports your child’s best interests and allows each of you to spend meaningful time with them. In the real world, though, this isn’t always possible.
And even when it is, the other parent can seek to modify that custody order when they believe that there’s been a substantial change in circumstances. A request to modify a custody order can feel like a gut-punch, too, since it threatens to limit the amount of time you get to spend with your child, thereby jeopardizing your relationship and bond with them.
While that’s all certainly stressful to think about, you shouldn’t sit back and let the other parent run the show in your custody case. Instead, you should think through the best ways to protect your position and the existing custody order. But how do you go about doing that? Let’s look at some tips that you can implement to hopefully give you compelling arguments that you can use in your case.
How to defend against a child custody modification request
The specific approach that you take is going to depend, at least in part, on the unique facts of your case. However, there are some general strategies that you can implement to fight back against a modification request. This includes:
- Highlighting lies and misconstrued facts: If the allegations in the motion to modify are riddled with inaccuracies, then you need to be prepared to highlight them in court. By presenting contradictory evidence, you demonstrate to the court that the other parent’s account of the circumstances can’t be trusted, which very well could lead to a denial of the motion to modify. So, assess any documentary evidence you might have, and be sure to speak to witnesses who may be able to provide insightful information to the court.
- Anticipating what the other parent will present: Going into your modification hearing blind is a bad idea. You can gain a sense of what your child’s other parent will present at the hearing by engaging in thorough discovery. Through this process you can request documents, seek answers to important questions, and depose the other parent to pin them down on their testimony. This can give you information and evidence needed to more adequately prepare for your custody hearing.
- Deflecting personal attacks: A lot of custody modification requests are based on unsavory characteristics of an individual’s lifestyle. If you can’t deny the evidence on these points, you might be able to at least minimize their impact by redirecting the court’s focus on the child’s best interests. By contextualizing the arguments, you could demonstrate that the issues presented to the court as problematic in fact aren’t all that relevant to your ability to provide your child with safe and effective care.
Don’t let the other parent take control of your custody case
When a motion to modify an existing custody order is filed, the confidence with which the other parent argues their position can be intimidating. But you can’t let their aggressiveness scare you into backing down or putting forth a half-hearted effort. You know why the court should block the modification.
You just have to diligently and persuasively gather and present the evidence that convinces the court of as much. So, be confident in your own position by putting in the right amount of preparation for your custody hearing.