How Can I Protect My Rights as a Father During a New Jersey Divorce?

When you go through a divorce, there are many considerations you must make. However, none may seem as important as ensuring you can still see your children. If you feel like your rights as a father are being overlooked or violated, it is crucial to understand the steps you can take to ensure you are treated fairly. If you want to ensure your rights are protected, the following blog and a New Jersey child custody lawyer can assist. Read on to learn what you must know about these circumstances.

What Are Common Issues a Father Can Face During a Divorce?

Historically, courts would generally grant the mother of a divorcing couple custody of their children. However, this has changed to ensure both parents are treated equally. Despite the steps taken to ensure fathers are treated fairly, many often feel discouraged by the child custody process.

Common issues fathers can face during this period include:

• The child’s mother prevents them from seeing their child
• Feeling as though the courts are not treating them equally
• Being unable to gain primary custody, even though it is in the child’s best interest
• Being the victim of lies from their spouse to prevent them from getting custody

It is important to understand that if you were married to your spouse before conceiving your child, you are automatically considered the father under New Jersey Law. If you and the child’s mother were not married before conception and did not establish paternity at the hospital during the birth of your child, you must complete this process to ensure you are guaranteed paternity rights under the law.

What Should I Do as a Divorcing Dad?

If you and your spouse are going through a divorce and you feel like you are not being treated fairly, it is necessary to take steps to protect yourself in these circumstances.

One common issue is feeling as though their spouse is not letting them see their children or is taking advantage of the parenting schedule. If this is the case, you’ll want to ensure you keep documentation of all the times your spouse has intruded on your parenting time. Additionally, though you may be upset, you should not disregard your custody arrangement to get back at your wife. This can be used against you, so ensuring you stick to the schedule is critical.

Similarly, if you feel like your spouse is lying or trying to make you look like an unfit parent, you may become frustrated or angry. Though this is understandable, you should not take your anger out on your spouse. This includes refraining from responding to inflammatory text messages or emails and staying polite but neutral when you must communicate. If you become angry, your spouse can collect this to show the court you are not cooperating.

Finally, you’ll want to connect with an experienced divorce and child custody attorney from Lawrence Law to ensure your rights are protected. Our team understands that fathers can feel discouraged by this process, so we are ready to fight for you. We believe that no fit father should be unfairly treated. Contact our team today to learn how we will fight to ensure your rights are protected.