You can demonstrate a parent’s incapability to act in the child’s best interests by performing the following:
- Note Any Unacceptable Or Inappropriate Parental Behaviour
- Gather Information
- Speak with witnesses
- File a court case or state authority complaint
- Serve Documents
- Show up to the trial
- Assemble evidence.
An unsuitable parent may lose both legal and physical custody and could be subject to supervised visits. In extreme circumstances, he or she might even lose the right to visitation, but that only happens in very few instances. Read on for more legal advice.
1. Note Any Unacceptable Or Inappropriate Parental Behaviour
Record and document the actions of the other parent. It is obvious that the other parent may not be suitable for custody if he repeatedly engages in behavior that places the child at risk. Several instances of offensive behavior include:
- acting violently in the child’s presence
- drug abuse while a child is present
- consuming drugs around the home and acting badly in the child’s presence
- a youngster being physically or psychologically abused
- punishing the child harshly
2. Gather Information
Information consists of:
- The journal entries you have made include notes
- Pictures or videos you may have taken of the other parent’s carelessness or excess
- medical records and reports if the child required treatment as a result of the other parent’s actions.
- Additional evidence of the other parent’s bad behavior, such as emails, phone conversations, voicemails, and social media posts.
3. Speak with witnesses
While caring for the youngster, the other parent might have interacted with others. Someone might have caught the other parent acting inappropriately or carelessly. Therefore, speaking with witnesses and learning what they may know about the child’s supervision by the other parent makes perfect sense.
If you learn anything significant, ask the person who testified if they would be willing to testify in court.
4. File a court case or state authority complaint
Call CPS, provide evidence of abuse or neglect, and ask the department to investigate the situation. Your child custody lawyer should be given all the supporting documentation. Request that he or she apply to custody.
5. Serve Documents
You must serve the other parent with the notification after petitioning the courts. Get a lawyer to submit a “proof of service” to the courts after serving the documents.
6. Show up to the trial
Attend the court with your custody lawyer by your side. Give the evidence and the proof with the help of your attorney. Work together to secure the witnesses’ evidence.