If you are facing a divorce, your child custody arrangements are naturally an important concern. Your divorcing spouse feels the same way, and sometimes, the sheer weight and stress of divorce pushes otherwise reasonable people to behave extremely irrationally.
If your divorcing spouse is characterizing you as an unfit parent in an attempt to obtain the upper hand in your child support case, it can leave you feeling frantic. The truth is, however, that the court is well acquainted with antics like your spouse’s and will do what’s necessary to get to the bottom of the matter.
The most important step you can take to protect your parental rights in response to your spouse’s outburst is consulting with an experienced Round Rock child custody attorney as early in the process as possible.
Keep the Court’s Position in Mind
To begin, it’s important to note that Texas courts are focused on the best interests of the involved children when it comes to child custody concerns, and barring a reason for ruling otherwise, this generally means spending a considerable amount of time with each parent.
If one parent is deemed unfit, this naturally affects child custody and can seriously limit their parenting time. The bottom line, however, is that the court isn’t going to take your spouse’s sudden declaration of your unfit parenting at face value. Your child’s other parent will need to provide a credible reason for claiming that you are unfit and will need to prove their accusation.
The court recognizes that parents don’t morph into unfit parents overnight, and if your divorcing spouse has no solid evidence backing up their claim – such as a police report or medical record – the court will take notice. Your spouse isn’t the first to have made false claims in the heat of divorce and, undoubtedly, won’t be the last.
If you are facing this difficult situation, it’s time to take a deep breath, remind yourself that you are a good parent who is committed to your children’s happiness and well-being, and work closely with your dedicated child custody attorney.
Parental Fitness
What does it mean to be a fit parent? Parental fitness refers to each parent’s ability to meet their children’s unique physical, medical, educational, and emotional needs. Factors like the following are taken into careful consideration:
Each parent’s overall mental and physical health
Each parent’s ability to provide their children with a safe, stable home that accommodates their needs
Each parent’s adherence to legal requirements and moral obligations
Each parent’s financial stability
If you were falling down in any of these areas, there would be red flags or outright proof prior to your spouse making accusations. If that isn’t the case, the court will recognize your spouse’s desperate attempt to rig the child custody terms.
What Texas Courts Require to Prove a Parent Is Unfit
In order to make a determination regarding a parent’s fitness, the court requires evidence that falls into categories like the following:
They are abusive in some way – whether physically, verbally, or emotionally.
They are negligent to a degree that puts the children’s health, safety, welfare, or well-being in jeopardy.
They have a criminal history.
They have an addiction or substance abuse problem that directly interferes with their ability to effectively parent.
Evidence often comes in the form of family photos or videos, recordings, medical records, phone logs, copies of electronic and other forms of written correspondence, witness statements, and police reports.
When a parent is unfit, there is often a suite of corroborating evidence – unfit parenting doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
A Child Social Study
When it comes to one parent being characterized as unfit by the other, the court has to take the matter seriously enough to rule the accusation out. In the process, they may order a child social study. Either parent’s attorney can also request that a child social study be conducted for each parent’s household.
Experienced professionals perform such studies, and all the following are likely to be scrutinized:
The parents’ relationship with one another
Each spouse’s parenting style
Each parent’s employment status and educational background
The living conditions in each parent’s home – or in their shared home if they’re still living together
The level of interaction each parent has with the children
Each parent’s availability and flexibility in relation to the children
Unfit Living Conditions
Texas courts are looking for unfit living conditions in the homes parents provide, which can take many forms.
Neglect
Parents have an immense responsibility to their children, and refusing to live up to this responsibility is a form of neglect. Neglect can take the form of failing to provide for the children’s physical needs, for their medical needs, for their educational needs, and for their emotional needs.
Abuse
Abuse takes neglect to an even more serious level. Children can suffer physical harm in relation to physical abuse, but emotional and sexual abuse can be just as damaging. When there is proof of a parent’s ongoing abuse, the court can rule them unfit with little need to delve into further investigations.
Prior CPS Involvement
When there is prior involvement by Child Protective Services (CPS), the court will pay careful attention, and it may spark the need for a more comprehensive child social study. CPS plays an important role in safeguarding children throughout Texas, and when concerns arise, this agency often initiates investigations that focus on the following:
Gathering the necessary information and evidence
Assessing the children’s living conditions
Conducting interviews with each parent, the children, and others with close knowledge of the family
If CPS identifies significant risks, it can intervene to help ensure the ongoing safety of the involved children. In extreme circumstances that put children at immediate risk, CPS can seek the legal termination of parental rights.
Considering Your Own Position
You’re in the middle of a contentious divorce with a heated custody battle, and your spouse is accusing you of being an unfit parent. It’s enough to send anyone over the edge. The most important point to keep in mind at this juncture is that your spouse’s accusations have no bearing on your child custody case unless they can be proven.
Unfit parents have histories of unfit parenting, and if you have no such history, the court will draw its own conclusions. Further, if a child social study is required, you can rest assured that the professionals who conduct the study are well-acquainted with the signs of unfit parenting – as compared to the signs of a busy family that is going through a difficult divorce.
Protect your parental rights, reputation, and personal well-being by allowing your formidable child custody attorney to help set the record straight. Parenting is hard, and parents aren’t perfect, but the minor foibles all parents commit don’t come close to qualifying as unfit parenting.
Texas courts are looking for parents who care about their children and whose actions reflect this care and concern, and keeping this fact in mind will help you weather the storm that your soon-to-be ex is putting you through.
Denying False Allegations
Your spouse is on the hook for proving the allegations they’ve made against you, but there are also steps you can take to help disprove their false allegations.
Know the Details
As difficult as it is to face the untruths your spouse has shared with the court – and perhaps with friends and family – about you, it’s important to know what you’re up against. Your child custody attorney will obtain the necessary information during the discovery phase of the divorce process, and from here, you can piece together your divorcing spouse’s strategy.
Often, false charges of unfit parenting are based on kernels of truth and are embellished from there. Knowing the incident that sparked your spouse’s accusation can help you get your bearings and provides you with the opportunity to share the whole truth with the court.
Point Out the Discrepancies in Your Spouse’s Claim
A good place to start when it comes to denying your spouse’s accusations is pointing out any discrepancies or untruths. Making a list of the false statements, untruths, and blatant lies included in your soon-to-be ex’s account provides you with a foundation upon which to build your response.
Create a Witness List
You’re a busy parent, and a lot of people have witnessed you in the world – and at home – actively parenting. Create a witness list of the people in your orbit who know you to be a loving, dedicated parent – the length of your list may surprise you. People to consider include:
Your children’s teachers and daycare providers
Your children’s babysitters
Your children’s grandparents, aunts, and uncles – and any other relatives who are closely involved in their lives
Your neighbors
The coaches and leaders of the teams and groups your children participate in
The parents of your children’s friends
Take Notes
If you haven’t already, now is the time to begin taking scrupulous notes about what’s happening while your divorce is processing. A parent who falsely accuses the other of being unfit may exhibit less-than-stellar behaviors. Keep copies of correspondence between the two of you and do what it takes to outline whatever’s happening. This information can prove invaluable.
Request Evaluations of Your Own
If you stand accused of being an abusive or negligent parent, be proactive and request the necessary examinations yourself. The best way to nip false accusations in the bud is to simply move forward through the evaluation process and put the matter to rest once and for all.
If your spouse has accused you of drug or alcohol addiction, a professional evaluation can quickly clear the matter up. It’s important to remember, however, that having an additional glass of wine on the odd occasion doesn’t mean you have a drinking problem and doesn’t make you an unfit parent.
If the accusation – whatever it is – is preposterous to begin with, the money spent on an evaluation could almost certainly be put to better use, and your practiced child custody attorney will help you make the right choices for you – in your unique situation.
The Home You Provide Your Children
In child custody cases, the court takes each parent’s ability and inclination to love and effectively care for their children into careful consideration. Another concern, however, is each parent’s ability to provide their children with a stable home, which involves several primary factors.
Financial Stability
While a parent’s financial stability has little to do with their parenting skills, the court takes the matter into consideration. For example, a parent who can’t or won’t keep a job – and who doesn’t otherwise have the assets to run a safe, stable home – can lose out in terms of maximizing their parenting time.
Living Conditions
To be a fit parent, one needn’t be a perfect housekeeper or a neat freak, but a filthy home that is in utter disarray will attract the court’s attention. Courts are looking for homes that provide children with comfort, adequate shelter, nutritious food, clean drinking water, access to education, and access to necessary medical care.
Emotional Harmony
A beautiful home that runs like a top may not provide for children’s emotional needs. A parent who engages in a string of volatile relationships, who is emotionally absent, who doesn’t have time for their children, or who has a history of serious emotional problems can translate to an emotionally unstable home.
An Experienced Round Rock Child Custody Attorney Cares about Your Case
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard in Round Rock, Texas, is a compassionate child custody attorney who has helped many clients face down false accusations of unfit parenting and prevail with favorable child custody terms. For more information about how we can help, please contact or call us at 254-781-4222 to schedule your free consultation today.
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