Custody Investigation

 

A Custody Investigation in Hamilton County, Ohio in 2005 was a four part process. 

The first part was a meeting with husband, wife, and the social worker.  The first meeting often sets the tone for all other meetings and the final decision. It is often more about how the social worker feels about you than about the facts, because it’s very difficult to separate fact from lies. One partner sits still while the other speaks. Think of the worst accusation a person can make, if you react with anger it will be a strike against you. Anything goes, as long as there is enough evidence or someone else’s testimony to hint it might be true.

The 2^nd part of a custody investigation is a meeting with each parent.  They may ask questions such as “Why do you think you should have custody?” A parent could insist that they can’t communicate with a spouse, so Share Parenting is out of the question. This tactic works best for women, because if all things are equal, she will get custody. Both parties must agree to share parenting for it to be considered. (See Section 2.  Why custody is important from a legal perspective) Family Law doesn’t see parents as equals, but rather the Mother must loose the right to have custody because she has committed a fatal mistake such as drugs, alcohol, or a loose relationship with a new boyfriend before a child. If a Father does everything right and the Mother does nothing wrong, custody will typically go to the Mother if she insists that Shared Parenting is not possible. One common technique that immoral Lawyers use to win custody is for the Mother to accuse the Father of abuse. The law is required to protect women and a man can be taken into custody if there is any suspicion, remember for the law to act the women may only need to prove that she is afraid. A man can not use the same strategy, unless there is clear evidence.

The 3^rd part is a home visit. The social worker inspects the home for many things.

Does the child have their own room, clothing, toys, pets, etc? How well does the parent communicate with the child. Do they seem happy together? What kinds of things do they do together? Does the Mother or Father cook? Are the pantries and refrigerator full of food? A parent should demonstrate skills such a cooking, baking, sewing, teaching the child to read, playing with the child, etc. There should be kids’ books and movies.  If you can teach your child a foreign language, how to play an instrument, paint, or play sports, try to demonstrate some of these things during the visit. Never have alcoholic drinks of any kind in the house, not even a single beer. Prescription drugs should be kept out of reach of the child. You should present yourself as the perfect parent, if want custody. Remember, if you are a man and your wife refused shared parenting, you have a huge up hill fight.

The 4^th part is a final meeting with the social worker with each parent and the child in the social worker’s office. Social workers have adopted standard practices which say, its better for a child to have a single home rather than to be shared between two parents. The typically support one parent having 75-85% of the child’s time.  Financial factors are also important aspect of custody. Often, social workers are socialists, they worry that the poorer side is down trodden. They attempt to balance the finances by assigning custody to the poorer parent, often its Mom. 

I have heard them say, Sir you are in good financial standings, and you are in a much better situation to handle this, meaning you can better afford to pay the other parent. Arguing that you don’t want child support if you should win custody, they won’t believe you for one and the court system/child support system needs people paying into the system.

Most people misunderstand how this works.  If you have a job that takes you out of town often, this could be a negative factor. If you have supportive family

Section 2. Why custody is important from a legal perspective.

A. The custodial parent has special privileges. They can show up late to drop off a child to the other parent, if the non-custodial parent has a pattern of being late more than 15 minutes they can be charged with contempt of court.

The custodial parent always is paid child support from the non-custodial parent, even if both parents spend equal amounts of time with the child.

In my situation, it was written in the decree that the Mom was to provide clothing when visiting Dad. A lawyer counseled Mom to irritate Dad by providing clothing which doesn’t fit, with holes, or broken zippers. Don’t give him the good stuff, even if he paid for it.  Lawyers feed on conflict, it increases their legal fees. The more problems they can cause the more money they make. Their primary goal is to earn money for their law practice, not to help you reach an amicable divorce.