Divorces can be messy and painful, especially when children are involved.
Custody issues often become some of the most difficult ones to resolve. After all, parents love their kids and want to be involved in their lives. Figuring out visitation and custody rights is tough. Parents can come to their own child custom agreement with the help of mediation, or they can go to trial where they’ll have less control in the outcomes.
Benefits of Choosing a Child Custody Agreement
Settling child custody issues via mediation and coming up with a child custody agreement offers a number of benefits to everyone involved, including:
Benefit #1 – You Determine the Agreement – Not a Stranger – Head to court for a trial and your child custody issues will be determined in a courtroom. With a mediated child custody agreement, you get to work on the terms together so you’re the ones deciding what happens. For many parents, it provides closure and a sense of peace moving forward.
Benefit #2 – Greater Satisfaction – When you reach a child custody agreement together, it leaves you feeling more satisfied with the outcomes. That increases the likelihood that you’ll both do your part and follow through.
Benefit #3 – Cost Savings – Taking a child custody case to family court can prove expensive, while child custody mediation saves both time and money.
Benefit #4 – Reduced Hostility – Battling each other in court can result in hostility between you and your ex. Even though you have differences, working together on a child custody agreement can reduce that hostility so you’re ready to work together to ensure your children have security and stability.
Benefit #4 – A Better Option for Your Kids – A divorce often proves traumatic for children. It’s heartbreaking enough without dragging the entire case through the court system. While some cases may have to go to trial, a child custody agreement worked out with a skilled mediator can be the best option for the emotional health of your children – and your own.
Even courts prefer that divorcing couples work out the details of their own child custody agreement. Doing so minimalizes hostility and partners are more likely to stick with agreements they help create. Going to trial may be necessary when parents cannot agree on who will be making the major decisions. However, taking measures to guard your children’s emotional well-being is critical.
Laura Cain understands how tough divorce can be, but she’s as comfortable at the negotiating table as she is in a courtroom, and she’s ready to help you navigate through the process of creating your own child custody agreement.