What is the impact of alcohol or substance abuse on child custody during or after a Louisville divorce? Are you facing a divorce involving children in the Louisville area? Are you sharing custody of your children with a former spouse after a divorce has been completed? Alcohol and substance abuse are a serious issue in the eyes of our Family Courts. It might be necessary to protect your child(ren) and reduce the impact of these addictions on your children.
The first step in these types of cases is to bring the matter to the Court’s attention. Your Dodd and Dodd divorce and family law attorneys can help make the Judge in your matter aware of the issue(s) and associated concerns regarding the welfare of the children. Kentucky’s Department for Community Based Services, Division of Protection and Permanency also provides services in these matters. It is important to protect every child who may be in a toxic situation or facing physical or emotional abuse or neglect.
Concerns should be documented as much as possible. What are the behaviors of the other parent when under the influence? How often does this happen? Is a child exposed to the behaviors in question? Has the other parent been charged with a DUI or arrested for possession or other drug or alcohol related charges? The primary goal is to minimize or eliminate any harmful impacts these behaviors may have upon the child(ren).
Our Family Courts take these matters very seriously. It may be necessary to evaluate or investigate the behaviors as well as the home of a parent who shares custody of a child while dealing with alcohol or substance abuse issues. How have the behaviors of the parent affected the life of the child? Has there been abuse? Neglect? The Court is always interested in the best interests of the child and the impact of past and present parenting behaviors and patterns on the life of each child.
This might result in a temporary or permanent change to existing child custody and visitation orders. There are programs here in Kentucky that involve the children in the treatment and recovery of these issues. It may be necessary to consider controlled or supervised visitation for some period of time, or until the other parent seeks genuine, professional assistance.
Are you concerned about the impact of alcohol or substance abuse on child custody and the safety of your child(ren)? It is important not to take action on your own without seeking the advice and counsel of the experienced child custody and family law attorneys at Dodd & Dodd. We can help you to understand options, gather evidence and ultimately seek orders to protect your child(ren) and perhaps the modification of existing custody and visitation orders.
We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and the legal industry and contact Dodd & Dodd or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.
