There are many different careers that parents hold in today’s world. Some allow them to be home with their children and work remotely. Others have them on unusual schedules and require them to have babysitters or nannies ready to take over their children’s care if they suddenly need to go into work.
Every parent has a different situation, and it makes sense that they would worry that their career could actually hurt their ability to get custody of their children in a divorce. Realistically, that concern does have some merit.
How could your career hurt your chance of getting custody?
If you are in a situation where you are regularly on-call or must go into work whenever you’re contacted, this doesn’t make for a great scenario for custody. If your children are younger, you’ll need to show how this arrangement won’t negatively impact them. For example, if you have a live-in babysitter, you can show the court that you have someone there to provide care at all times, even if you have to leave suddenly.
The other parent may argue that you don’t have as much time for your children and shouldn’t receive as much custody time as a result. Even if you start off with a shared custody schedule, they may request a custody modification if you aren’t home with your children regularly.
It’s important that you do consider what’s best for your children. If the reality is that you’re working 70-hour weeks and won’t have time to see them until the weekends, then you may want to consider a custody arrangement that reflects that.
Your career may make a difference, but it won’t always negatively impact your right to custody. Be prepared to negotiate custody based on what’s best for your child and the actual level of care that you are able to provide.