Preparing a Parental Resume

What is a father’s parental resume?

A parental resume is exactly what it sounds like, a resume that you’ve built out of your own parental experience since the birth of your first child.

While your wife may be hostile and downplay any fatherly role you have portrayed, the purpose of this resume is to show the people involved in your custody case (lawyer, law guardians, therapists, and the judge, to name a few) the actual level of commitment you’ve had as a father toward your child(ren) since the day they were born.

If you know someone who writes really well, enlist their help in developing this document.

How will having a father’s parental resume help me?

This document is well worth the time and the effort, and may end up saving you money in the long run. Your attorney is bogged down in several divorce and custody cases at the same time as yours. All these cases are at different stages, with different people, and have different circumstances. Can you imagine what it’s like to try and remember all the facts surrounding each case? You may think you pay your attorney enough to do just that, but the fact remains attorneys are people too. Having this reference on hand may save you a $200 phone call when your attorney has forgotten some aspect of your case.

What do I include on a parental resume?

Your name and address

Names. ages, and gender of your children

Regular activities you engage in with each your children in any capacity, such as coach, instructor, volunteer, driver, parent team member, booster club, etc. List each affiliation and position on a separate line, and the years you performed in that capacity. Also write a sentence stating what you enjoyed most about the experience.

If you regularly take your child to the doctor, list that and the doctor’s name and town. Do this for all medical/dental personnel.

If you participate in religious education and services with your child list that as well.

List any big one-time events that you’ve engaged in with your child, such as walk-a-thons, or other volunteer activities. State your reasons for engaging the child(ren) in these volunteer activities.

If you are responsible for making sure the house is clean, list it.

If you know how to cook and provide meals for the children, list it.

Describe how you successfully discipline your child.

Describe how you’ve bonded with each of your children.

If you read to your child regularly

If you (alone) are responsible for the children between certain hours, list it.

If you are the one the school nurse calls when the child is sick, definitely list that.

If you have a special needs child, and you are especially close to this child describe the specialness of the relationship.

Explain why you feel that you’re the better candidate for custody. Just like in a resume, describe situations where you feel you were exemplary.

The point is to document your role in your child’s life, and to illustrate the extent of your active and ongoing involvement in all aspects of your child's life.

For further assistance with a parental resume, feel free to contact me.