Child custody legal forms are an important part of the custody process, but they are by far not the only thing to worry about if you find yourself in the situation of trying to get custody of your children.  
You may also be dealing with a divorce or other kind of relationship as well as the division of property, like the family home.  This can be overwhelming, but most experts agree that by following a logical step-by- step plan, you can secure your well-being as well as that of your children.

Legal Forms in Child Custody-Divorce

If you are going through a divorce and have children, it is in your best interest to end the marriage as amicably as possible because this will help you later on when you go to fill out the legal forms in child custody.  The most important thing to do at this point is to establish that the children will stay with you, even if it is only temporary.

Remember, the first spaces on the child custody legal forms will be to fill out the children’s full legal name as well as their legal address.  If the legal address shows the children as living with you, you will have a slight advantage at the temporary custody hearing.

The first hearing you will attend will probably be a temporary custody hearing.  If the children are living with you, chances are you will be granted temporary custody until you go to the real custody hearing, which could be months away.  These temporary hearings occur fast, so it is important to have the legal forms child custody filed with the court accurately and right away.

The courts have made filing child custody legal forms easier because most forms are available free and online.  They can be downloaded and filled out immediately and then filed with the proper court.  This saves the time of going to the court and picking them up and then returning them another day.  Most of the forms are only one page and come with instructions, so if the child custody is uncontested, you may not even need a lawyer.

A word of caution when filling out child custody legal forms:  There will usually be blanks to fill out as to why you are petitioning for child custody.  It is important to be factual and not insinuate or make anything up about your spouse or the parent of your children.  Anything that you say about the other parent will become a matter of court record and will undermine your case if it is not true.