In doing so, you are more likely to get the judge s favor. If you leave all the parenting duties to the other parent, then you will lose the custody of your children. Keep a calendar for everything. You should know the details about when your ex-spouse was unable to pick up or drop off your kids, when you had the kids, and the events you attended. Temporary custody If there is no agreement between the parents, a temporary child custody schedule may be ordered by a judge. In some counties, judges rely on the opinion of the mediator. Sometimes, a child custody evaluator reports to the judge his findings, which sometimes include an interview with the child. Temporary custody, which indicates when each parent can take care of the child, prevents one of the parents from running off with the child or denying the other parent access to the child. It also ensures stability between the parents during the divorce process. Both parents are authorized to decide alone on behalf of the children if no custody order was given when they separated. Custody rights of mothers Under the eyes of the law, mothers and fathers have important roles to play in the growth and development of their children. A father s bigger income compared to that of the mother does not entitle him outright custody in the event of a divorce. In paternity suits, all of the 50 states in the U. Here, you can get as much information that you need to help you gain better understanding on matters that will make or break a child s life. Aside from the Internet, you can also read a lot of parenting magazines where there are feature stories on legal issues that concerns any family such as child custody. Some of the factors that a judge looks into when deciding custody rights include the age of the child, past behavior of the parents at home, preference of the child on who will take care of him or her, stability of the parents home, the amount of time a parent can devote for taking care of the child, and the parents ability to finance the child s needs.