Addiction Issues and Custody
If you have addiction issues, will it effect your ability to get custody of your children in your divorce?
It depends. Do you admit you are an addict? If the problem is in the past, how far in the past is it? Have you received treatment? Are you dealing with the issue in an ongoing fashion? Again, a lot depends on who the primary caretaker of the children has been for the duration of the marriage.
If, for example, the mother has been a stay at home mom and the father has traveled for work but the mother is an alcoholic or addicted to painkillers, the question really becomes how has that effected her ability to care for the children? Is she passed out on the couch while the seven year old makes dinner for the four year old? Or is drinking a bottle of wine and passing out after the kids are in bed?
Either way, the way to address this issue in the context of a custody case if the opposing party alleges that there are addiction issues, the first thing the client must do is accept that they are going to have to deal with the allegation. If the allegation is credible, the client needs to admit that yes, they have a problem with alcohol or drugs or whatever. Then they need to immediately get help, so they can at least tell the court yes, I have a problem, but I am dealing with it.
Nobody is perfect. Judges know this. But it is important that if you have an addiction problem and you want custody of your kids that you deal with. Not just for your benefit, but more importantly for the sake of your children.