You might be getting ready to divorce your partner and lead separate lives once again, but that’s difficult with co-parenting, especially if you’re unable to agree on anything that pertains to your children’s lives. Parents generally get awarded shared custody in Maryland courts because it is in the children’s best interests to be in contact with both their parents.

While it might be ideal to have both the parents in the picture when raising a child, sometimes, it might not be in their best interest. There may be any number of things that can cause the court to be wary of sole custody; here are some examples:

Abuse

A history of abuse, especially in recent times, may make the court give sole custody to the parent that is non-abusive. The abuse can pertain to either the child or to the other parent. With credible proof of abuse, the court orders sole legal custody as a definitive action unless the judge can specify the reason for awarding shared legal custody in writing.

Impaired by substance abuse or mental illness

If a parent is found to be abusing substances or mentally ill to the point of impaired judgment, the stable parent might be awarded sole custody. These parents are, however, provided with the opportunity to work through these problems and get awarded shared custody if they demonstrate a consistent effort to do so.

Lack of contact

If a parent hasn’t been in contact with their child for long periods of time before the court proceedings, or if they’ve never been in the picture, the court determines it to be too risky to give joint custody. The present parent is rewarded sole custody because they are more in tune with their child’s needs.

Strained communication between parents

The court might order sole legal custody in the case of two parents who can’t communicate effectively due to their strained relationship. They would first be encouraged to work on their issues or go to counseling together, but sole custody is the best option if the communication issues are sure to leave a negative impact on the child.

Get the help of an experienced child custody attorney in Baltimore County

If you or someone you love is going through a custody battle, an experienced child custody lawyer can help you gain full custody of your child.

Lincoln Law Group’s compassionate family lawyer in Silver Spring and Baltimore can also help you understand why your partner may have been granted full custody and how to contest it after a while. All you have to do is pick up the phone and call us. We also have experienced tax lawyers, immigration lawyers, criminal defense lawyers, and personal injury lawyers to help you with almost every type of legal work.

Divorce was the easy part; co-parenting is the real struggle. According to research, at least one child out of five has experienced their parent’s breaking up by 9 years old. It’s difficult to get along with an ex; they’re not your partner anymore for a reason. While you don’t have to be the best of friends after getting divorced, you do need to tough it out and commit to some inner growth for the sake of your children.

Here are some tips for shared custody that will help you give your children their needed security and stability with both their parents.

1. Heal yourself

Before you can even start co-parenting with your ex, you need to work on healing yourself first. Moving on from the past is crucial, or else the lingering bitterness will seep into the new relationship you seek to forge with your children and each other. A happy individual can co-parent with intention and focus.

2. Remember the love you once had

While things may have ended now, there was once a time where you and your ex would have brought the stars down to Earth for each other. When you’re going through bouts of extreme dislike for your co-parent, think about even the tiniest things to love about them and show appreciation for the part they’re playing right now.

If that doesn’t work out, try turning it into a businesslike relationship, where you can respectfully make decisions for your child’s future.

3. Communicate respectfully

Try your best to keep arguments and confrontations away from your children’s eyes and ears; schedule a time and neutral place to talk things out. If you absolutely must bring up a disagreement in front of the children, stay respectful and do it wisely. It can be helpful for the kids to see effective communication between their parents.

4. Be flexible

Stability is definitely important, but so is flexibility. Staying on a rigid schedule with no forgiveness will make your kids feel unsafe and turn them away from leaning on you for support.
Schedules are good to follow but try not to make things unnecessarily difficult when your ex needs an easy favor; you might need that same generosity from them some day.

At The Lincoln Law Group LLC, we understand that getting through a divorce is painful and difficult. You can entrust your case to our compassionate family law attorneys to help you through these hard times. Our child custody lawyers and divorce attorneys ensure the best outcome for every client using a personalized approach. We also offer legal services such as tax litigation lawyers, immigration attorneys, child custody lawyers, car accident lawyers, criminal lawyers, and other legal services in Silver Springs, Baltimore, and Montgomery County.

Contact us and schedule an appointment today.