Fathers from Idaho seeking joint physical custody - please tell me your story

[ccmidaho]

Hello, my boyfriend and I are currently preparing for a custody battle. Boyfriend is the father. Child is 13 months old and the mother is doing everything she can to limit visitation to as minimal as possible. We think that joint custody is in the best interest of the child. Both parents are fit parents - its simply an issue of the mother not wanting to give any time to the father. Father currently gets child for 8 hours a week - no overnights.

I'd love to hear from fathers in similar custody/visitation cases. What strategies have worked to get you 50/50 custody?

Any lawyers in the Boise area that you'd recommend? Why?

Any insight regarding Boise family law judges and if they will be biased towards the mother all else being equal?

Would love to hear any advice from people in Ada County.

Thanks!

[CustodyIQ]

Hi,

Unfortunately, it's not just a matter of father-bias or mother-bias in the situation you describe.

The status quo weighs heavily on court rulings.

The current status quo is that the father is involved 8 hours per week.

By his choice?  Of course not.

But that's the status quo.

So, with the mother (and clear primary caretaker) unwilling to negotiate much, I see very little chance that the father will end up with 50/50 if the mother is a fit parent.

If he's a superdad, he still has very little shot.

Now, over the course of many many years, it's possible that he'll get more and more time, but it's quite possible he may never get 50/50.

His only shot would be to show serious flaws in the mother as a parent.  SERIOUS means so far below average that 99% of people would say, "Oh my god, what is that woman doing with children?!"

Unfortunately, that's the way it is.

The good news is that a court will likely order far more than 8 hours per week in access to his kid.  You can go for 50/50, and may end up with something like 70/30 or 75/25.

If you request a step-up plan (e.g., parenting plan changes to something else when child turns 18 months, and then another change at 24 months), a court might also be more likely to make such orders... it gives the child more time to adjust over time.

Good luck.