You may believe your child’s other parent acts one way towards you and your child and another way to the outside world. Understandably, this can be completely frustrating when you are trying to prove that they are parentally unfit in your ongoing child custody case proceedings. You must think of every conceivable way to document their behavior. Well, they may make your job much easier if they have a history of sending you negative text messages and emails. With that being said, please follow along to find out which text messages and emails you should choose to submit to the New York State family court and how a proficient Long Island child custody lawyer at Barrows Levy PLLC can help you handle these written communications directly.
What types of text messages and emails can help my stance in a child custody case?
You must walk a fine line when it comes to presenting the New York State family court with text messages and emails between you and your child’s other parent. On the one hand, you do not have to share every single exchange that is irrelevant or muddies the point you are trying to get across.
But on the other hand, you do not want to share too little, which confuses the context, or as though you are intentionally hiding your part in the exchange. With all these things considered, below are examples of the types of text messages and emails that may be beneficial to include in your custody case:
- A spamming thread of text messages from your child’s other parent, which may exhibit their patterns of harassment or emotional abuse.
- Text messages and emails from your child’s other parent with indecipherable sentences or thoughts, which may point to their substance abuse issues.
- Text messages and emails from your child’s other parent with overt and subliminal threats, which may point to their tendency towards domestic violence.
- Your text messages and emails to your child’s other parent regarding co-parenting scheduling that go unanswered, which may indicate their neglect or abandonment.
Should I text or email my child’s other parent as custody proceedings are ongoing?
Of course, you may be unable to cut off communication with your child’s parent entirely, as you still need to co-parent and coordinate a temporary parenting time schedule with them. But you should tell yourself, as your child custody proceedings are ongoing, that everything you send can be used against you and shown to the New York family law judge presiding over your case.
With that mindset, it may be in your best interest to stick exclusively to email correspondence. This is because you may tend to be more hasty and emotionally driven when sending quick text messages. With an email, you have more time to sit with your thoughts, and even have your lawyer review it before you hit send. Plus, it is easier to preserve and present this to the court.
Better yet, you may convince your child’s other parent to download a co-parenting app for child-focused conversations. Notably, the messages sent in this app cannot be edited or deleted, making them admissible evidence in court. Also, your lawyer may be added as an observer to monitor the communication, making you feel safer and more at ease.
To conclude, to ensure you put your best foot forward when starting your case, please consult with a talented Long Island family law attorney from Barrows Levy PLLC. We are willing to answer any questions and concerns you may have regarding your situation, no matter how minor you may think they are. So call us today.
