There are many costs involved in fighting a custody battle in court. Some of these costs are obvious; attorneys’ fees, delays in reaching resolution, acrimony and stress for parents, families and children are par for the course in a child custody lawsuit.
But, as Halle Berry’s recent custody battle highlights, custody fights can take a toll on all areas of the parents’ lives, including their careers.
Berry recently left the set of a movie she was filming due to her custody battle. While we can’t know for sure, I would venture to guess that she gave up a large sum of money when she left that set.
Berry has the luxury of leaving a high paying job to manage the stress, work and trauma of a custody battle. She will easily find jobs in the future and she will hardly miss the income from this one movie.
But, most of us cannot afford to sacrifice a job to keep up with a custody lawsuit. Therefore, we have to manage the stress, time demands, emotions and financial costs of a custody battle while also trying to keep our jobs. Many parents find this very difficult, but only discover the difficulties of litigation after they are neck deep in the quicksand of a lawsuit.
Before you decide whether to resolve your child custody dispute in court, analyze whether you can afford all of the potential costs. If you have any doubts, I would encourage you to investigate non-litigation options before filing a lawsuit.
Randolph (Tré) Morgan III is an experienced family law attorney accepting cases in Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Garner, Fuquay-Varina, Clayton, Smithfield, Wake Forest, RTP, Durham, Chapel Hill, Holly Springs and surrounding areas. He focuses his practice in divorce, child custody, alimony, child support, equitable distribution, property division, paternity, guardianship and other family related matters.