If you are father engaged in a custody dispute with your soon-to-be ex-spouse, chances are that you are concerned about dealing with a custody evaluator. After all, who wants to their parenting decisions judged by a third party when the other parent is looking for information to be unearthed (whether true or not) that can affect their rights to custody and parenting time.

Some parents know that that their child support awards may be directly tied to the amount of time their parenting time they are awarded, which can be strongly influenced by an evaluator’s recommendations.

With that, we offer some helpful tips to so that you can be prepared for a custody evaluation.

Be honest – This may seem obvious to the uninitiated, but giving honest, non-evasive answers to the evaluator is critical receiving a favorable evaluation. After all, the evaluator (and ultimately the judge) must believe that you are a credible parent who is likely to follow a court order after it is issued.

Don’t bash the other parent – While you may have some legitimate concerns about the other parent, a meeting with the custody evaluator is not your opportunity to show how terrible she is. The evaluator already knows that you two may be at odds, but he or she may be more interested how you resolve conflict when it comes to parenting decisions.

Mind your surroundings – Just as it may be obvious to be honest with an evaluator, the same could be said making sure that your home is clean and free from hazards.

If you have additional questions about dealing with custody evaluators, an experienced family law attorney can help.