In some rare cases the Family Court Commissioner will issue a temporary order of joint custody over the objections of his wife. Unfortunately, these situations are far too rare. In most situations, visitation time will be grossly inadequate unless his wife argues in his favor for substantial time with his children. This seldom occurs because by this stage both parties have become angry and entrenched. This is an adversarial legal process.
Attorneys advise to give as little as possible and get as much as possible.
If his wife agrees to much more than the standard one or two days visitation every other weekend, she can be seen as endorsing him as a parent, or tacitly agreeing to joint custody at risk to her own position in gaining full custody. If joint custody is not ordered on a temporary basis, this meeting will result in visitation times being reduced from what they were prior to the hearing or will be locked in at a minimal visitation time allotment. Our man will also be assessed with child support at a figure which astounds him. He will later find out that he cannot afford, at least for a year or more, if ever, an adequate place for him to live with room for his children. This will thwart him considerably during the custody study since he cannot possibly feel good about himself or care for his children appropriately without adequate housing.