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Addiction can play a role in determining custody

Custody issues within a context related to divorce or child custody cases in Texas are among the most difficult to manage. The reason being is that there are so many moving pieces associated with custody cases that it is like having to spin ten dinner plates on the tips of each of your fingers. Keeping all of them in the air without breaking one would be extremely difficult to manage. For this reason, I always think it is a good idea for you to be aware of the issues that may arise in your case to better plan and prepare for them.

The irony of custody issues within a Texas family law case is that the word custody does not appear in the Texas family code even once. However, everyone uses that term to describe any issues that relate to children in the context of a legal case. Custody means everything from conservatorships rights and duties, child support, Visitation, possession, and access. These are the more specific and legal terms you may hear in Association with a divorce or child custody case related to children. However, attorneys and clients alike will use the term trustee with greater frequency.

How can you best prepare for a trusting matter when there are so many different topics to pay attention to? When we think about custody issues, we consider the most intimate and essential problems related to your children and family. On top of that, many times, we also have to consider family circumstances that are specifically important to your case. One of the issues that I find is most difficult for families to manage in a custody case is addiction on behalf of one of the parents.

Addiction problems are challenging to manage for several reasons. First of all, when a parent is addicted to a substance, whether that be alcohol, prescription medications, drugs, or any other substance, a child is invariably placed into danger if and when that parent is responsible for that child’s care. I’ve spoken with a handful of parents who either have addiction problems themselves or perhaps have a partner or a new spouse who does, and those parents will do everything under the sun to try and tell me that their situation is unique. Their substance abuse and addiction problems do not pose a threat to the children.

For example, I can recall a case from several years ago when a mother dealt with a child custody case filed by her children’s father. One of the main reasons the children’s father filed this custody case was that he learned that the mother’s boyfriend was using drugs in the home while the children were present. When I spoke to our client about this issue, she was adamant that the boyfriend only used his particular substance of choice when the children were asleep and in the backyard by himself, outside the home. What do you think a family court judge would say about a situation like this?

Drug use cries a parent in the home is a serious matter. We don’t allow children to have complete autonomy over themselves until they reach a certain age because it is believed, and is authentic, that children cannot make decisions for themselves until they get a particular point of maturity and development. Children lack experience in the real world, knowledge of their complete surroundings, and a less refined sense of right and wrong. Instead, we rely on their parents to make decisions for children until the children are older.

Avoiding situations where the potential harm can befall a child is a big part of the parent’s responsibilities. Parents need to be level-headed in clearheaded when it comes to assessing their child’s potential risk, helping the child avoid an unnecessarily high degree of risk in their daily lives. If a parent comes up or their partner is addicted to a mind-altering substance, then it would be responsible for a family court judge not to consider when determining parental rights and duties.

Parents in the situation described above faced by our former fan client, I would argue that it is not themselves who engages in Substance abuse or addiction in that they would never be tempted in doing so. However, any person who has lived in the real world and been exposed to this sort of temptation would tell you that it can be tough to maintain sobriety in clear thinking in an environment where substance abuse and addiction are ongoing. Keeping your children safe from dangerous substances in persons under the influence is an essential aspect of parenting. Showing the judgment necessary to eliminate unnecessary risk in your children’s daily life is a fundamental part of parenting.

With all this said, you may be asking yourself how addiction will impact your child custody case, if at all. That is what I would like to spend the second half of today’s blog post discussing with you all. If substance abuse and addiction are a problem in your family, you will want to pay attention to this blog post’s remainder. We have to walk through how substance abuse is handled within the context of a child custody case and what its final impacts on your case may end up being.

How a quart is likely to handle addiction in substance abuse in your divorce or child custody case

The information I provided to you in the earlier section of today’s blog post is crucial because it allows you an opportunity to understand what substance abuse is, how addiction Can Impact your ability to parent as well as touching on the fact that substance abuse and addiction Can become a significant issue within a child custody case. The second half of today’s blog post will discuss how these issues May impact your specific case.

From the outset of your case, you should expect that any past or present evidence of substance abuse or addiction will become an issue in your case. It doesn’t matter if addiction problems started a long time ago and are now being dealt with through treatment and therapy or if the addiction problems are ongoing. The reality of a custody case is that these are the type of subjects that can swing the matter a great deal.

As a result, your co-parent will make this issue known to the court from the beginning of the case. This does not mean that you will be fighting an uphill battle when it comes to custody issues for the duration of your case, but it does mean that there will be a heightened level of scrutiny surrounding this subject when it comes to your custody case. At the beginning of the case, you will likely be ordered to be drug tested or alcohol tested if there are concerns about an ongoing addiction problem. Costs for the drug tested may be your responsibility, the responsibility of your co-parent, or split between both of you.

The drug test results will determine how Visitation and possession issues are handled at the outset of your child custody or divorce case. If you test negative for any substance, you will likely be able to have possession based on Whatever other factors are present in your case. However, suppose you test positive for a substance. In that case, you will likely be ordered to have only supervised or minimal amounts of Visitation and possession time with your children Until later in your case.

I can recall a case from a few years ago where a client of ours tested positive for several drugs at the outset of her divorce case. This did not come as a shock to anyone, but it meant that our client was ordered to have only limited possession with her daughter during the first few months of the case. I can tell you that this was a difficult transition for our client, who was used to being around her daughter much more frequently. However, it would allow her to begin the sobriety process, start working with a therapist, and focus on what was most important in her life.

By the end stages of her case, our client had tested negative for any illegal substance on multiple occasions and eventually was able to win split custody of her daughter with her husband. Other factors weighed in on her case, just like there will be other factors that weigh in on your case, but the fact of the matter is that you and your lawsuit will be impacted most significantly by this substance abuse issue.

What happens if your addiction problems were in the distant past?

This is a question that I received from people going through family law cases all the time. It doesn’t just have to be about custody problems, either. Many people have arrests from decades ago, issues with debt from years ago, substance abuse issues that date back decades, or many issues in their lives that people have been able to put behind them successfully. However, the beginning of a divorce or child custody case can cause many people to be concerned that these past issues will rear their ugly heads during their case.

While addiction and substance abuse are serious issues, if you have not engaged in the Abuse of substances in quite a long time, have never exposed your children to any importance, and seek consistent help for these problems. The issue is much less likely to be a factor in your divorce case. Taking responsibility for your past actions is a vital part of this. If a family court judge identifies that you have already taken steps to control the problem and minimize the impact on your relationship with your children, then that is a good place for you to start.

Be aware that your co-parent contempt for making a past addiction issue more of a subplot in your current family law case than it needs to be. Resist the temptation to believe that family law cases can be swung by decades-old allegations of drug use or substance abuse. Most family court judges are reasonable and want to balance past problems in your life with the need to protect your children. Suppose you have taken responsibility for your actions and are doing everything within your power to manage your addictions and keep your children safe. In that case, the odds are that your addiction problems will not impact your custody case all that much.

The last thing I will mention today is that if you have an addiction as a part of your child custody case, you should seek experienced representation to help you handle these problems. Even if the issues are in your distant past, that does not mean that they won’t be at least somewhat of an issue in your current child custody or divorce case. I recommend that you speak to and consult with a family law attorney who helped people in your situation before. Going about a divorce or child custody case in your circumstances without an attorney is not a good idea, in my opinion.

Questions about the material presented in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan

If you have any questions about the material presented in today’s blog post, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are an excellent way for you to learn more about Texas family law and our office’s services to our clients.

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Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Houston, Texas Child Custody Lawyers

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding child custody, it’s essential to speak with one of our Houston, TX, child custody lawyers right away to protect your rights.

Our child custody lawyers in Houston, TX, are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, handles child custody cases in Houston, Texas, Cypress, Klein, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, The Woodlands, Houston, the FM 1960 area, or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County.

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