Nasty court battles and clashing over custody does not benefit your children and may cause long lasting damage. If you and your ex are both willing, you can avoid court and respectfully create a custody agreement that benefits your children and allows them to thrive.

When you choose negotiation over litigation, you and your ex can use this opportunity to create a very specific parenting plan and visitation schedule.

You know your children, negotiation ensures your children’s needs come first.

Otherwise, you’ll end up leaving these personal family decisions to a Judge who doesn’t know the dynamics of your family.

You’ll want to hire an experienced attorney to help you with your child custody arrangements.

Is it worth hiring someone to help you with this? Absolutely!

Here are 7 reasons why:

1. You can actually save money. Child custody disputes through court litigation can be quite expensive.

2. You’ll also save time because you won’t have to wait months to get on a court’s calendar. And negotiation is much less stressful than going to court.

3. The negotiation process can often be completed much faster than if you choose to litigate and go to court. Making the transition for your children seamless, allowing you and your children to adjust to the new way of life.

4. Another benefit of the negotiation approach is that the focus is always on what’s best for your children. In court, there’s often a winner and a loser. Or sometimes both parties walk away feeling like they have lost.

5. When you choose to negotiate everyone wins, especially the children.

6. Your stress levels will also be lower because you’ll be given tools to resolve conflicts as you create a parenting plan that benefits everyone.

7. The public nature of court proceedings with documents becoming a matter of public record can also be quite stressful. When you choose mediation/negotiation/collaboration all issues discussed are confidential, making the entire process safe, and allowing everyone to feel heard, understood and part of the process.

Consider how your children feel when they are caught in the middle, feeling pressured to choose sides. This is not healthy and can ultimately end in broken relationships and damage that can take years to heal.

When you choose to create a custody agreement with your children’s best interests at heart, it allows you to enter your new co-parenting arrangement with the same goal and commitment to always do what’s best for your children.

Negotiation allows for greater collaboration in creating the best co-parenting experience for your children, and that’s really all that matters.

As an attorney, I have honed my skills of negotiation, mediation, collaboration to resolve even the most difficult cases with stellar results.

If you want to discuss how we can create a child custody agreement that works for everyone in your family, call our law office today.

As a mom of 2 children with over 30 years of legal experience, Andrea Schneider is a master at mediation, negotiation, collaboration- focusing on child custody cases. You’ll want someone on your side who helps you hammer out the smallest of details that are often overlooked.

Call our office at (619) 518-0476 to schedule your FREE initial consultation today!