What to bring to your first custody hearing
Judges have a few minutes for each family on a busy docket. One tidy folder gets more of those minutes spent on your children.
Most parents bring too much or too little. Here is the folder I ask every client to put together, in the order a judge tends to ask for things.
Papers the court will want
- Any order already in place, with every page
- Your child’s birth certificate
- School enrollment and attendance records
- Your work schedule for the next two months
- A one-page calendar of who has had the children this year
Papers that help, if you have them
- Report cards and notes from teachers
- Medical and counseling appointments you took them to
- A short list of texts that show how you two arrange pickups
What to leave at home
Leave the shoebox of every text you’ve ever traded. Pick a handful that show something a judge needs to know, print them with dates, and leave the rest. Leave the children at home too, unless the court has asked to see them.
A judge remembers a calm parent with a plan longer than a long list of complaints.
On the day
Arrive early, find the courtroom, and give the folder a last look. If you have a lawyer, sit where they tell you. If you don’t, speak to the judge, not to the other parent, and answer the question you were asked.
This is general information, not advice about your case. Rules differ from court to court, so check with a lawyer about yours.