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Introduction

First of all, I want to thank you for reading this guide. It will be time well spent and I am confident that the information contained on these pages will save you a lot of time, energy and money.

Secondly, I must tell you that every divorce case, although similar in many regards, is different. This is a very emotional time for you. You are probably running a range of emotions from pissed, stressed and depressed to elated. You will experience one or all of them at different times during your separation and subsequent events leading up to the filing of your final decree. This guide contains my experiences of going through a separation, custody battle and the drafting and execution of the final decree.

My goal in writing this is to save you time and money by presenting the information I gathered while going through my own contested divorce and custody dispute. I am going to tell you what happened to me, what I did and how it might have had a positive impact on my case. I also highlight things I did wrong and actions you can take to show the court you are the better parent. This will give you the best chance of prevailing in your divorce and and gaining or retaining custody of your kids.

A lot of this information is for parents that want to be the primary custodian. I am not writing this to give a leg up to the person that thinks of the kids as marital property or wants to get the kids to hurt the spouse. You have to understand that you are making a long-term commitment and life altering change of being a single parent.

Bear in mind that these are actions I took and things that happened to me during my case. It was a scary, confusing and lengthy process but I held strong and grew more determined over time. In the end, I was awarded sole custody of my son and child support. And I am a man.

This is not legal advice by any means. I am not a lawyer and cannot offer legal advice. No one can or will guarantee that you will prevail. There are so many factors that are taken into consideration that even your lawyer will not (and is ethically unable to) guarantee that you will win.

Read this guide, speak with your lawyer and above all else remain as calm and collected as possible.

Next: The Calm Before The Storm