Custody and divorce are some of the most difficult times you will go through. You should rely on friends and family for emotional support, but make sure you get legal advice from the right source - an experienced, family law attorney. Many people make emotional decisions during the course of a divorce that they end up regretting for many years into the future. The divorce attorneys at Adams & Rocheleau, LLC, understand this and spend the time necessary to thoughtfully and patiently explain to you all possible legal options and strategies. We know through experience that the legal decisions you make today will have major ramifications for your life in the future.

In determining the best custody award to order, the court shall consider, but not limited to: (1) The wishes of the child if the child is of sufficient age and capacity to form an intelligent preference as to his custody; (2) Any nomination by a parent or a guardian for the child; and (3) Whether either parent or any other person seeking custody has engaged in an act of domestic violence. (Nevada Statutes - Chapter 125 - Sections: 480, 490)

>>If you are not involved in your children's lives now, you are not getting custody from a judge. If you are a working parent who lets your spouse handle all of the details of parenting, you are not prepared to win at custody. You must either change your objectives or change your parenting. If you really want custody, get involved now - in all aspects of your children's lives. Get involved in your children's schooling. Attend their extra curricular events. Take them to the doctor and dentist. Get to know what professionals your children see and be involved with them.
>>Make sure that you are not exposing your children to unsafe or unhealthy environments when they are with you. Are you involved in another relationship? Has there been more than one? Be very careful about exposing your children to your companion(s). Many judges, professionals, and other parents object to the children being subjected to other relationships too early in the process. More importantly, if you really want to win at custody, it should be because you want to spend time with your children and be a good parent to them. Spending too much time with someone else when you have the children is a recipe for losing at custody in court.
>>Do you insult or denigrate your ex when the children are with you? If you do, stop. One sure way to lose at custody is to hurt the children's relationship with the other parent. When determining issues of custody, a judge will consider whether a one parent promotes or prevents the other parent's access to and relationship with the children.
>>Winning at custody requires that you keep a calendar for everything. You need to be able to look back and remember details when it comes time to litigate custody. If you do not know when you had the children, what events you attended, where you were with your kids, or all of the times your spouse was late for a pick up or drop off of the kids, you will only hurt your chances at winning custody. You can keep track on your own calendar, with your own journal, or with a professionally managed calendaring system.
>>Be on time. . . Be on time. . . . Be on time! Few issues cause as much conflict as a parent who is persistently late in picking up or dropping off children. It annoys the judge, it creates arguments with your ex (or soon to be ex,) and it stresses out the children. So, be on time.
Be flexible. If the other parent wants to switch weekends or weekdays, do it if you reasonably can. When the time comes to tell the judge why you should have custody, you can tell the judge that you are the parent who makes sure that the schedule works. In a close case, this issue makes a difference.
>>Do not involve your children in the issues that are pending in court or with attorneys. Courts generally are very opposed to the children knowing the details of what are essentially adult issues. Children should be told that both parents love them and want to see them - that's it. The children may see a psychologist and/or an attorney or other professional if the court so directs. The children can talk to those people about your case ’ but you should not be giving them the details, especially if giving the details involves denigrating the other parent.
>>Winning at custody requires considering one other very important factor: where do the children want to live. It is not a good idea to coach your children on this issue. They will have an opportunity to tell what they want to either the court, their attorney or a psychologist. However, it is a good idea for you to know what they want. If they want to live with their other parent, you should not spend all of your time and money pursuing custody, unless you believe that it is unsafe or inappropriate for the children to live with that parent.
>>You should be ready to show why your children's other parent should not have custody. So, you need to keep track of whether that parent is on time, involved, and flexible with the schedule. If that parent has any issues that affect custody, such as a history of mental health problems which impact his or her ability to care for the children, or alcohol or drug addictions, you need to let the court know. Other issues that can and do affect custody determinations include the number and frequency of a parent's romantic relationships and the exposure of the children to those relationships. Other important issues are the proper supervision of the children, and ensuring that the children attend school and see professionals such as a doctor and dentist when necessary.
>>Above all else, hire a good attorney and be open and honest with your attorney. Listen to your attorney, not some friend or relative who is sure about what you should do because they had a friend or a relative who got a better deal. If you are paying your attorney, listen to what he or she has to say.