Custody battles can be emotionally taxing and legally complex. In the video below, Sina Mohajer of Mohajer Law Firm, based in Arcadia, California, highlights the top five mistakes commonly seen in child custody cases. Avoiding these behaviors can help you secure the best outcome and maintain a healthy co-parenting relationship.

If you’re navigating a custody battle or have questions about your rights as a parent, contact Mohajer Law Firm today for a personalized consultation. Our legal experts are here to guide you through this challenging process.

Transcript:

Hey, welcome back to our channel. For those who don’t know me, I’m Sina Mohajer from Mohajer Law Firm, located right here in Arcadia, California. We specialize in family law, civil litigation, criminal defense, and personal injury.

Now, you might have noticed some time has passed since we filmed our last video, and for good reason. I’m happy to announce that our firm has been growing. We’ve moved into a bigger location, allowing us to hire more staff to take on more cases. And I’m even happier to announce that our success rate has only increased.

So if you’re new to this channel, welcome. Please don’t forget to hit that subscribe button so you’re always informed of new videos being posted. And I do have to take this time to thank those who have been subscribing and have specifically sent us messages during this time that we’ve taken a break. I’ve received them all and I’ve read them all. It truly warms my heart to see that the content we provide, the information that we’re providing to you, has really been helpful in your life, in your case, and to those that you love. So thank you so much. They have been heard loud and clear, and that is why we are back, baby.

So without further ado, I’d like to welcome those who are returning and those who are new to our new series called A Walk in the Park.

Top 5 Mistakes in a Child Custody Case

In today’s video, I want to specifically address, in my opinion, the top five mistakes that I see in any type of child custody litigated battle.

1. Parents Don’t Prioritize Child’s Best Interests

The first one being that parents do not prioritize the childrens’ best interest. Now, the family code specifically states this is what judges have to abide by—what is in the best interests of the children in order to come up with some type of custody or visitation schedule. By the parents not taking into consideration or even prioritizing the best interest standard, it really sets you back when you’re in court asking for a certain type of relief.

2. Badmouthing the Other Parent

Mistake number two that I see, and happens more often than not, and I don’t know why, is one parent making disparaging comments or badmouthing the other parent, either directly to the children, around the children, or within earshot. But more importantly, let me leave you with this as well. Even if you’re not doing any of that, your attitude, your demeanor, the vibe that you’re sending off when you’re with your kids—if you have any animosity about the other parent—that comes off, and the children are like sponges. They can see that you weren’t happy with the other parent, and that ends up affecting their relationship with that parent as well. If the court can see that, you’re in a lot worse condition than you were had you been keeping those comments and that energy to yourself.

3. Don’t Keep a Journal of Visitation or Parenting Time

Now, mistake number three that I see is that parents do not keep a log or a journal of visitation or parenting time. A lot can happen in a month, two months, or three months when you want to be sure that you can address these issues with the court. Not having a log or journal, it makes it very hard for the court to believe that these incidents even occurred. Having detailed information, such as, on this particular date, the other parent was late for pickup or late for drop-off, or there was an incident that occurred at the exchange, makes you a more credible witness when the time comes to go in front of the judge.

4. Not Following Court Orders

Now, mistake number four that I see is not following a court order. It’s really simple, folks. If the judge orders you to do one thing, you follow it to the tee. The fact that the other parent has violated the order or did something improper does not negate the fact that you don’t have to follow the court order. So we want to make sure that when we’re entering into that courtroom, we have clean hands so that way we can point the finger at the other parent and demonstrate to the court that they’re not effectively co-parenting or they did something improper.

5. Use Children as Leverage

Now, mistake number five that I see in all of this is using the children as leverage. These kids are innocent bystanders in your battle about custody or divorce or what have you. Don’t let them play a part in this and definitely don’t use them as leverage. When the court sees that, they can’t trust you to be the primary custodial parent. I have seen judges take away custody from a parent simply because they are using the children as pawns. They are not [pawns]. They are kids, and they are innocent in all of this. And because the first mistake I talked about was the best interest standard, the court’s going to look at that over your interest any day.

Contact a Child Custody Lawyer

So if you have questions about this video, or specifically, about your case and different nuances that are occurring and you’d like to speak to an attorney, I welcome you to contact us and schedule your consultation. I’m happy to sit down with you one-on-one to discuss your case in more detail.

And like I said, if you’re new to this channel, don’t forget to hit that like and subscribe button so that way you’re informed of any new videos being posted. And if this content has been helpful to you, please share it. The more we reach out to our friends and family and the more knowledge we have, the better position we are in when we do step into that courtroom.