If you lose your job, you should not assume that you will automatically lose custody of your children. While it is important that you are able to provide for them and support them financially, you can take steps to improve your situation and show that you are working toward solutions.
Some people who lose their jobs are able to take on more child-rearing responsibilities, which may help if you can take more custody time to support the other parent’s busy schedule. On the other hand, you may want to ask the other parent to cover more custody time so that you can attend interviews or so that you can focus on your new job until you get settled in.
What should you do if you lose your job?
If you lose your job, the first step is to communicate that with the other parent and the court. You may need to adjust alimony, child support or other payments.
Depending on how or why you lost your job, you should then seek unemployment if it is available to you. This will not cover all of your lost wages, but it may help you remain financially stable as you look for a new job.
Communication is key after job loss
Even though you may feel like it’s embarrassing to lose your job or may not want to tell the other parent, you should. If you are on good terms, they may be able to help you with job leads or might have helpful ideas for managing custody as you attempt to return to work.
Be honest, so that you and the other parent can work together to keep your children in a stable situation as you go through this period of job loss. That way, you will both know what’s going on and can also show the court that you took steps to make sure your child was put first in what could be a volatile financial situation.
There is no reason that you should lose custody as long as you are taking steps to improve your situation. You may, however, want to modify your custody agreement while you look for work.
