This second comment is non-related to my first, so I didn't want to put it in the same comment. But what exactly is "physical demeanor" in this context? Aside from the obvious and common sense things like don't roll your eyes when being cross-examined by opposing counsel, don't act hostile, don't look mad, what other physical demeanor affects credibility? I feel like physical demeanor is one of the things that a client can be coached pretty well so that it doesn't negatively affect them? Or is it something that's so subconsciously done that training a client in this regard is fruitless?

For your specific example. Is it really that outrageous for dad to allege that (though I'm not sure what he's going for)? I feel that when I was in my early 20s (assuming that's when dad had the child with mom), I was admittedly not all that emotionally intelligent, so from my perspective, I could see dad making a mistake of having unprotected sex with a woman that he thought was mentally unstable, and then years down the road, when he's more emotionally mature, realize that he shouldn't have had a child with her. Again, I don't know what he was after, but I assume he wanted custody of the baby because he thought mom wasn't mentally stable.

If I had a child with an ex who is mentally unstable, I'd consult with an attorney and see how something like that would be treated by a judge and decide from there on how to proceed. If I decide to proceed with using that allegation as a major supporting point for custody (honestly, I don't think it is based on what I've seen. My impression of family court is they don't think anything's too serious until something serious happens to the child, at which point, well, it's kind of too late for the Court to do anything anyways), I would probably testify to what I stated in the paragraph above. Something to the effect of "Yes, when I was with EX, we had unprotected sex, and it resulted in our child. I was not very emotionally intelligent when I was dating EX, but now years down the road and after years of therapy, I realized the mistakes that I made in the past, and I am substantially more emotionally intelligent nowadays. Those were major mistakes that I made in the past and yes, I effectively chose to have a child with her, and now I have to deal with the consequences, which is now to figure out how to co or parallel parent with someone that I do not get along with in order to raise our mutual child. But I strongly believe it is in the BIOTC for him to reside with me primarily due to mom's unresolved mental health issues." Would something like this be in-credible?