In this video, family law attorney Sina Mohajer discusses the common mistakes parents make in a child custody case. It’s important to not make these same common mistakes that I see day after day, in many of my family law cases.

If you have any questions about your custody battle, or would like to speak with a skilled family law attorney, contact Mohajer Law Firm today at (626) 569-5200.

Transcript:
Co-parenting doesn’t have to always be hard, but one thing is it’s not always going to be easy, and you’re going to bump heads with the other side. But when you come to those situations it’s important to not make those same common mistakes that I see day after day in many of my family law cases.

Hi, I’m Sina Mohajer. I’m a family law attorney practicing in the Greater Los Angeles County since 2012. I’ve been a contributing member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and I’ve been rated by Super Lawyers since 2019.

How to Respond to Child Custody Violations

Now, common mistakes happen all the time. That’s why they’re called common. But it’s very important for you to understand what these common mistakes are in order to, hopefully or potentially, avoid them when you’re dealing with your custody issue.

I like to explain a situation that just recently happened with one of my cases. I represent mom, and dad had a custody order in place where there’s certain rules and regulations that they’re not allowed to do, or what they’re supposed to do. However, dad inadvertently, or maybe purposefully, violated that order and removed the kids to a different county without notifying mom first. Well, that is a violation of the court order.

But one common mistake I see is that now my client felt that because father violated the court order, she could violate the court order, and two wrongs make a right. It doesn’t. Let me be the first one to tell you, if you haven’t heard it before, two wrongs do not make a right.

She violated the order and withheld visitation. That is the biggest mistake I see as a family law attorney when I’m dealing with my custody cases. When one parent thinks that it’s okay to go ahead and violate that court order simply because the other side has violated the order previously.

But the courts don’t see it that way. In that particular situation, father’s violation was a small little issue, but mom’s violation is a bigger issue. Withholding visitation, not allowing a child to see the other parent, is a huge no-no. And that’s just one common mistake.

Bad-Mouthing the Other Parent

Another common mistake, or a few other common mistakes, I see is, for example, talking to the children about the court proceedings, whether using the children as messengers, bad-mouthing the other parent, whether it’s directly to the child or within earshot.

At the end of the day, your children are like sponges. They absorb everything. You don’t have to say you’re in a bad mood, they know you’re in a bad mood. So when you’re unable to hide your emotions, or hide your feelings, the kids are affected. And when the kids are affected, your case is affected. And if your case is affected, well heck, you might end up losing your custody that you’ve been fighting for so hard and so long.

Help With Your Child Custody Case

If you’ve got questions about your case, or you’ve got questions about your custody situation and you need some legal counsel, we offer a free initial consultation. Feel free to give our office a call. Contact us online.

I’ll be happy to sit with you one-on-one to discuss your options if you’ve got the best approach to take.