This is a growing trend presented to Tampa Child Custody Lawyers as parents grow further and further apart through family law disputes. In order to get sole custody of a child, the party seeking full custody must show, through some evidence, that the other party is in some way a detriment to the child. For example, if the other parent has a previous charge for some sort of drug use, child abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, etc., that would certainly be argued that that is a detriment for the child to be exposed to those sort of conditions. More common than not, there is a growing trend in family law disputes for the parties to accuse each other of drug and alcohol abuse with little to no factual basis. The majority of family law judges in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties simply do not buy these sorts of statements any more. In our experience, it is incredibly difficult for one party to get full sole custody, especially without Tampa Child Custody Lawyers to assist you, without some sort of hard factual support like a criminal conviction, photos, etc. As we have discussed elsewhere on our Tampa Child Custody Lawyers’ blog, Florida Statute Section 61.13 provides the legal factors, the Court will consider.
In many of our custody cases, we utilize a theme in our opening and closing statements. This case is simply something about facts versus opinions because, the majority of the time, one case has facts to support their position and the other side simply has opinions. For example, a fact in a family law dispute is, “I’ve never failed a drug test.” An opinion in a family law case is, “He’s an alcoholic and a drunk and a drug addict and he’s a bad dad.” We encourage family law judges, in our cases, to simply disregard those things as little more than petty bickering and opinions of jilted and estranged lovers and move on. Again, in our abundant experience, the majority of family law judges in the Tampa Bay area simply overlook these matters because they literally hear them day in and day out. Our Tampa Child Custoday Lawyers have had great success utilizing this theory.
In closing, when seeking full custody, it is important to have very realistic expectations and an awareness of what is required to prove it. It is arguably the most difficult thing to get in a Florida family law case. If you, or someone you know, is seeking full custody, contact the Tampa Child Custody Lawyers of Hackworth Law, P. A. for a free case consultation. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you in this very difficult and personal matter. Thanks for stopping in on our blog. We look forward to hearing from you about your thoughts regarding the same.