Oh, I got way sidetracked.... I meant to add: research, research, research on your own. It's great to trust your lawyer, because you should be able to, but knowing what questions to ask helps things immensely. Like any person, they may assume we know because it's second nature to them, but we don't because we're not immersed in the system day in and day out.
Ask for your Best Case, the WHAT I WANT list (though maybe not the ULTIMATE want list, because mine was that AXH would just disappear..). Set a list of items you'd be willing to give on and put them in order of priority; share it with your attorney. Let him/her know, when X's group balks at the Best Case, I'd be willing to ease up THIS item first. Then THIS item... And have your attorney tell you what the absolute worst case could be and what a most likely case would be.
When I first joined, Coyote21 shared some of his advice on working through court hearings for custody. A main statement was: Be truthful. About everything.