Steps California parents should take after losing custody

Losing custody can be devastating for any parent. Thankfully, there are some steps that California parents can take to regain custody of their children.

Think about why you lost custody

How you go about regaining custody depends heavily on why you lost custody in the first place. Depending on the reasons, you may have a harder time regaining custody – but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

It’s important to take an honest look at the reasons for custody loss. It can be hard to admit where something went wrong, but claiming rightful responsibility is the first step in getting your kids back.

From there, you can address the reasons individually or all at once. For example, if you lost the children due to a drug problem or alcohol abuse, your first step would be to get treatment.

Work with the court system

You might be hesitant to work with the very system that took away custody in the first place. A lot of times though, custody is taken away and is contingent on multiple factors.

Going back to our previous example, if children were taken away due to a drug or alcohol problem, it is rare that the court wouldn’t inform the parent of that decision. Regaining custody might be contingent on the parent seeking counseling or completing a rehab program.

In less extreme cases, custody might just be contingent on making sure that the parent has a safe home for the child or works to rebuild a relationship with the child. Whatever the reason for losing custody, the court provide the steps necessary for regaining custody or visitation rights.

Be patient

It can take a long time to get custody back of your children. The best thing you can do is stay patient and work on improving your life in preparation for regaining rights to your child or children.