A divorced parent who spends more time nurturing a career than the other parent doesn’t need to sacrifice fulfilling relationships with his or her children simply because of a busy professional life. The corporate culture in California is a strong one, so a career-minded parent has to learn how to manage a career along with his or her child custody rights. Divorced working parents who want more time with their children have to be willing to make adjustments to their busy lifestyles and choose to put their children first.
Working parents may have the best intentions when it comes to seeing their children more often, but experts say no parent should ask for more time than they can comfortably provide. The last thing a parent should do is to let a child down when a child is expecting to see him or her. Parents should show up when they say they will.
When a working parent genuinely wants to spend more time with the children, he or she will make it a priority to become more organized at the office. Scheduling time with children is just as important — if not more so — than attending that big after hours meeting. Parents also have to agree to play by the same rules since agreeing on child custody matters may require a give-and-take approach.
Child custody issues are among the most emotional of any divorce situation. A California lawyer may be able to offer guidance and advice to a working parent on making decisions objectively regarding what is in a child’s best interests. An attorney may also be able to help a client to negotiate in good faith to come to a mutually agreeable child custody arrangement.