You got married young and have a spouse who is around a decade older than you. You’ve been reliant on their experience and employment, but everything seemed find since you were there at home to raise your children.
Now, they’ve asked you for a divorce, and you’re not sure how to respond. You are in a tough position and are concerned that the court is going to see your age and lack of career options as a reason to limit your access to your children.
Will your age play a role in your custody case?
Realistically, your age shouldn’t play a significant role in the case. Instead, a more significant problem could be a lack of work history or the inability to find a job that is supportive enough to raise children on. However, even with that in mind, your spouse may be required to pay you spousal support as well as child support if you seek custody.
Since you’ve been the primary caretaker, it would be unreasonable to ask that you don’t continue to see your children or to assume that your spouse would suddenly have the time to care for your children on their own. So, the judge will look into factors such as:
- Which parent has the time to care for the children
- If there are any signs of abuse or neglect
- If domestic violence played a role in the case
- Who the primary caretaker of the children has been
- Which parent has the financial stability to provide for the children
…as well as many other pieces of information.
What can you do to minimize the risk of losing custody?
If you’re still concerned about potentially losing custody or not having enough time with your children, it’s a good idea to talk to your attorney about what you can do to bolster your custody case. Things like having a stable home environment and the financial support needed to provide for your children will be important.
Your age shouldn’t influence your custody case. You’ve been parenting all this time, so age doesn’t have much or anything to do with your case. However, you do need to be prepared to show how you will care for your children once the case is resolved.
