Getting yourself ready for a home study

If you have need a best suitable service yourself ready for a home study Law experience, Family Lawyers Houston in Texas the great process!

Family Lawyer in Houston – If you are involved in a contentious divorce or child custodycase or anticipate being involved in one, then you should be aware that home studies are conducted with regularity depending on the specific circumstances of your case.

While it can be overwhelming to consider the possibility of a stranger coming into your home, “studying” you, and then making determinations that can affect the outcome of your case, the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan would like to help you understand and plan for this stage of your case.

From my experience, I can relate to you that one of the most, if not the most, important factors that a judge will use to decide a child custody matter on behalf of two parents is the utilization of a home study.

Depending on the results of the study and how you and your home are evaluated, you could end up having very different outcomes. During the heat of a divorce or child custody case, you may not have time to prepare thoroughly for the day that a social worker or amicus attorney comes to pay you a visit. Therefore, now is the best time to begin to prepare for this important event.

A CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATION IN DETAIL

Houston Family Law Lawyer – In child custody cases that are highly contested a court may order a child custody evaluation to be conducted. This is done in order so that the judge may look into the specific circumstances of both you and your opposing party’s home lives. If you and your spouse are unable to agree to a possessionschedule, conservatorship rights/duties or any other issue related to your children a child custody evaluation may be in your future.

Since a judge only has a limited view of you and your spouse as parents from what is seen in a courtroom, the child custody evaluation is a more comprehensive look at your home life.

How you relate to your children, how you relate to your spouse and the specific needs of your child will be evaluated. If there are specific events that occurred in the past that the judge believes to be relevant those can be looked into as well by the evaluator and interviews conducted by appropriate parties.

Before all is said and done, the evaluator will have looked into every nook and cranny, literally and figuratively, in your life to help the judge determine what living situation is in the best interests of your children to reside in primarily.

WHO IS THE CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATOR?

The evaluator in your child custody or divorce case will be an unbiased party who has no prior relationship to either you or your opposing party. The contents of his or her evaluation will be compiled into a document known as a report which your judge will rely heavily upon when making a determination about custody.

Family Lawyers in Houston – That is if your case makes it all the way to a trial. Often times the results of an evaluation will convince one side or the other (or sometimes both sides) in a child custody case to settle prior to even reaching the courthouse steps.

I should point out that the evaluator does not act as the ultimate decider of anything. While he or she will likely be a professional therapist, counselor or even an attorney, their recommendations are just that- recommendations. Ultimately it is the judge in your case who will be charged with making any final determinations.

There is no advocating that is done by the evaluator on behalf of either you or your opposing party. It can sometimes feel that way, based on what prior clients have told me, but from my experience, these evaluators are very straightforward and objective most of the time.

THE CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATOR’S REPORT

Once the evaluation of both your and your opposing party’s home has been completed, the child custody evaluator will create a report that discusses both their findings and their recommendations to the judge.

Conservatorship, possession, access and other issues will be detailed. This is a heavy burden for the evaluator to bear. The contents of the report will be admitted into evidence should your case make it all the way to a trial. Judges place a lot of weight and emphasis on the evaluations contained in the report.

HOW IN DEPTH DOES AN EVALUATION GET?

Family Law Attorneys Houston – If there are issues raised in your child custody case that merit further investigation it is likely that a judge will ask the evaluator to focus on those. For example, if there are allegations made against you that you were abusive or neglectful of your child then it is probable that an evaluator will focus on how you interact with your child and look at your home to determine if there are any conditions in existence that could harm your child or put him or her in danger.

Your parenting will obviously be evaluated, as will that of your opposing party. Independent judgments will be made about each but comparisons between you and your opposing party will not be made.

Before you consider putting on a “show” for the evaluator to show him or her how you and your children interact be aware that this will likely not be the evaluator’s first experience in a home environment. As a result, your actions may come through loud and clear and hollow and façade-like. I would recommend that you conduct yourself in a typical manner for you. You will feel better about the study as will your children.

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS WILL BE DISCUSSED IN TOMORROW’S BLOG POST FROM THE LAW OFFICE OF BRYAN FAGAN

If you are interested in learning more about the subject of child custody evaluations then I would certainly recommend that you return to our blog tomorrow to read more on this subject… Continue Reading