Custody Evaluator

[b-ball]

We are going to court on Jan. 12.
The judge is not liberal and isn't open to shared parenting unless we agree as parents.   Of course Mom knows this and is not going to agree.

Do you think I should Request a Custody evaluator?  I got some good tips off of the sparc archives.   Does anyone else have any suggestions on what to look for when selecting one?  What to expect?  Any tips on getting the upper hand?   Do you know of any evaluators that are for shared parenting when their is 2 fit and capable parents?  I am in Indiana.  

Thanks for any help

[bluesman]

>We are going to court on Jan. 12.
>The judge is not liberal and isn't open to shared parenting
>unless we agree as parents.   Of course Mom knows this and is
>not going to agree.
>
>Do you think I should Request a Custody evaluator?  I got some
>good tips off of the sparc archives.   Does anyone else have
>any suggestions on what to look for when selecting one?  What
>to expect?  Any tips on getting the upper hand?   Do you know
>of any evaluators that are for shared parenting when their is
>2 fit and capable parents?  I am in Indiana.  
>
>Thanks for any help

Two things:

I 'interviewed' an evaluator before agreeing to accept her. After accepting her, the evaluator called opposing counsel to let them know of our meeting. (BTW, my attorney didn't see a problem with it and gave me the ok). When opposing counsel found out about it they retracted their acceptance of the evaluator saying she had been tainted by meeting with me. We had to get a new one. My advice, get a good attorney who knows all the players. If an attorney doesn't know all the evaluators in your area, move on.

Secondly, read the info on the site about evaluation and how to approach it. Don't hold back. I got bad advice from someone who told me to take the high road and now I'm paying for it. Don't be nasty, though. But you've got to give the evaluator everything you have to support your case. If they don't have the information, they can't make the proper decision. This comes directly from another evaluator who is now consulting on my case.

jc