Many parents worry about losing custody of their children when they go through a divorce. They know that they won’t get to live with the kids if they are denied physical custody. Their number one goal is to make sure that doesn’t happen.
The good news is that the courts generally do not deny physical custody to either parent. Instead, they tried to seek a solution where both parents can share custody. But the fact that this is most common doesn’t mean it happens in 100% of cases, so why might the court deny your custody rights?
They believe the child won’t be safe
The biggest reason for a denial is if they think there’s a safety-based reason to keep the child from being in your care. For instance, they may reference things like drug addiction or a criminal record. If they believe that it would be better for the child not to live with you, then they can make this order.
But the court doesn’t do something like this lightly. They’re not going to look at one 10-year-old DUI on your record and say you can’t have custody of your kids. These types of rulings are more often made in severe situations.
Plus, if there is any concern about a child’s safety, courts will sometimes order that one parent will get physical custody and the other parent will get supervised visitation. This still allows you to see your children in a more controlled setting.
Exploring your options
Once again, the odds are low that you are going to lose custody of your children. It doesn’t happen all that often. But it is also very important to know about the legal steps you can take to make sure you preserve the precious parent-child relationship you already have.
