Where there are disputes as to parenting of a child or children, often a lot of negative feelings arise between the parties despite their best efforts.
These negative feelings are often fueled by their own anger disappointment and sadness at the relationship ending.
Less ethical lawyers utilise this to fuel a feud between the parties to encourage litigation, which can generate a huge amount of legal fees.
However, when litigating in most cases the only winners are really the law firms that earn those fees, and you can burn through tens of thousands of dollars in mere weeks when litigating. Additionally, the children often pick up on the ill feelings between the parents and often suffer feeling of self blame and depression, as they believe the court case is because of them.
Litigation should always be the last resort of parents who cannot agree, and all efforts should be made to come to a compromise before going to the courts. Parties should make genuine efforts to put aside their own personal feelings towards the other person and concentrate on co-parenting and how it benefits the children of the relationship.
When consulting a lawyer, remember to ask what your options are for reaching a settlement. You are potentially saving thousands of dollars, and years of emotional stress.
