Mistakes Dads Make During Divorce

Experienced Divorce Attorneys in Rhode Island

When you and your spouse decide to divorce, prepare to be heavily scrutinized by your spouse, your children, and a judge. If you are battling for custody of your children, prepare for your words, recreational choices, spending habits, social media, and even interactions with family to be analyzed in court. While it may be uniquely challenging to keep your cool and avoid all appearances of reprehensibility during a divorce, your future as a father depends on it.

At Bolideau Capalbo, LLC, we are committed to helping you retain your rights as a father. While we roll up our sleeves and get to work helping you fairly determine custody of your children, avoid these classic mistakes that dads tend to make during divorce:

• Don’t try to out-spend your spouse. Digging yourself into a financial pit won’t do you any good. Not only could it propel you into financial hardship after your divorce, but a judge will see right through your efforts to extend litigation and force your spouse to quit or run out of money. In fact, a judge may actually punish you if they suspect you are deliberately being unreasonable in order to drive up the cost.
• Don’t roll over on matters of child custody. Many fathers assume they are automatically disadvantaged when it comes to determining child custody. For this reason many fathers don’t contest their spouse’s petitions for custody. However, legally speaking, fathers have equal footing when it comes to decisions about their child’s welfare and they are entitled to fair consideration in a custody hearing.
• Stay in your house. If at all possible, the best course of action is to minimize the separation between you and your children by staying directly involved and present, by living at home and by remaining part of their everyday care.
• Be responsive and punctual. You can accidentally abdicate much of your paternal privilege by missing deadlines, not submitting paperwork on time, and not responding to your spouse’s petitions for custody. If you want to continue being an involved parent, enlist the help of an experienced Rhode Island divorce lawyer to stay organized and defend your rights as a father.
• Avoid reckless behavior as a coping mechanism. Making extravagant purchases, partying, using drugs and alcohol, and other popular methods of blowing off steam during your divorce don’t convey the sort of stability, maturity, and adult responsibility a judge will look for in a parent who is fit to be awarded full or even partial custody of children.
• Keep your cool at all times. While it may be tempting to share about your divorce on social media, via text, over email, or in any other recordable format, don’t do it. This includes verbal exchanges with your spouse, your children, your family members, and any mutual friends, as these could be recorded without your knowing and later presented as evidence of mental instability and hostility that could cause you to lose your custody battle.
• Don’t take a “Who needs the manual?” approach to your legal representation. When your ability to continue being an active, involved father is on the line, you need professionals on your side.

At Bilodeau Capalbo, LLC, we are ready to get started helping you defend your rights as a father during your divorce. Call (401) 400-8182 or schedule your complimentary consultation today.