Write an article based on this "Consider child custody mediation. Call the police. Consider going to court."
This type of mediation is done by a professional. The professional acts as a go-between for you and your ex when you can't work things out. In fact, the mediator can even work without having you both in the same room at the same time, so you won't have to bicker with your ex. The agreements you come to are not binding by the law, so you can change them later in court if you need to do so, though some judges may take the agreements you made into consideration. Mediation can happen before or after you go to court to try to prevent you from going to court a first or second time. Generally, you will hire one person you can both agree on as a mediator. Most of the time, that person will be a lawyer, though some people do work as professional mediators. In severe situations, you may need to call the police. For instance, if your spouse isn't letting you have your kids when they are supposed to, that is an appropriate time to call the police. The police can then come out and make a documentation of it, called a "visitation interference." That way, if you do need to go to court, you have documentation to back you up. However, the police will not remove the child from the home. You'll need to go back to court. In addition, this step may only help you if you already have a court-ordered custody arrangement in place. If you haven't been to court or even if you have, you may need to go back to court if you can't work out your arrangements. In that case, you'll both need to hire lawyers to represent your side. Court can get messy, so make it a last resort if possible. If you feel like your ex spouse is an unfit parent, you may want to fight for full custody. In that case, you'll need to be able to provide examples of how and why the other parent is unfit. Your lawyer can help you come up with ways to prove your point. If you already have a court order for your custody arrangement, you generally must prove that something substantial has changed to get a different arrangement. This option is also important to consider if your ex spouse is delinquent on child support.