New Jersey parents who are getting divorced will need to negotiate a child custody agreement, which includes visitation and exchange procedures. The custody agreement negotiations, though necessary to complete a divorce, might become tense and emotional. These emotions might continue even after the divorce is finalized.
Child custody agreements are supposed to help minimize the emotional aspects of the inevitable changes after a divorce. However, these feelings might still flare up and even become dangerous when the actual physical custody exchange takes place. A custody exchange happens each time children go from the physical custody of one parent to another and fall under the topic of visitation rights, which means that no matter what other issues parents might be in disagreement about, such as late child support payments, both parents have the right to continue seeing their children.
Problems can arise when the parties are embroiled in other custody disagreements, which might lead to angry words, verbal and physical fights, and in extreme cases, death. There are a few cases that have ended up this way. One case that exemplifies this is that of a 20-year-old Dallas man who was killed after he asked a friend to shoot and injure him in an attempt to gain custody of his child. Another case involved another Texas man who was killed by his ex-wife’s boyfriend during a custody exchange.
Though the entire process of divorce might be an upsetting period of time, a parent involved in the process and negotiating a custody agreement might benefit from the guidance and assistance a family law lawyer might provide about child support, custody exchanges and other issues related to custody. This might help the parent and the children to have an easier time with the process and allow them to focus on moving on with their lives instead of becoming embroiled in what can become a bitter custody fight.
