Temporary child custody is the intermediary phase of the child custody process that courts mandate so that the child will have an immediate place to live. 
Family court is a very busy place, and if two parents decide to part ways (whether married or not) they will probably not get a hearing for permanent child custody for at least several months.  A temporary child custody hearing simply grants one of the parents the right to house the children and continue their life uninterrupted until a formal hearing can be scheduled by the court.

Temporary Child Custody Form

A temporary child custody form is needed for the initial hearing in order to establish temporary child custody.  In the United States, this form is available online for all fifty states except for Alabama.  In most cases, this is a one page form that can be downloaded (along with the instructions) and filed with the family court.  If the temporary custody is not contested by the other parent, a lawyer may not even be necessary.

This temporary child custody form has been made to be simple because the courts understand that during a divorce or separation, there may be limited funds to hire a lawyer and the court wants to have the children placed in a stable home as soon as possible.  The temporary child custody form requires the full legal names of the children and their current legal address.  The form also requires a reason for the need of temporary custody.  It is important to fill out the reason for temporary child custody accurately.  Any slandering of the other parent will hurt your chances for permanent custody at the real hearing.

Temporary Custody of a Child

To make the temporary custody of a child go smoother, it is of the utmost importance to be as civil to the other parent as possible.  It is a good idea to keep in mind that just because a parent is granted temporary custody of a child doesn’t mean that they will be granted permanent and sole custody later on.

Temporary child custody only serves to keep the children’s lives as uninterrupted as possible.  Most family courts now lean towards joint custody, which means that they would rather have both parents in the children’s life if at all possible.  At this time, the more that you can work out points of agreement with the other parent, the better the outcome will be later on when you have the real custody hearing.