How Substance Abuse Impacts Child Full Legal Custody and Parental Visitation?

 

Substance abuse often plays a staring role in child full legal custody and parental visitation cases.  Child full legal custody and parental visitation cases are always based on a child’s best interests.   When determining a child’s best interests, substance abuse can become a factor that significantly impacts the court’s final decision.

Are you going through a child full custody case in New Mexico?  If so, you need to know how substance abuse impacts child full legal custody and parental visitation.

 

ALLEGATIONS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN CHILD FULL LEGAL CUSTODY AND PARENTAL VISTATION CASES

 

Allegations of substance abuse are taken very seriously.  New Mexico judges have a duty to protect children.  This means that judges may “error on the side of caution” allegations of substance abuse are raised during a child full legal custody or parental visitation case.

 

ALCOHOL AND CHILD FULL CUSTODY IN NEW MEXICO

 

The majority of NM judges are pretty liberal.  For the most part, New Mexico judges are not finger-wagging puritans that believe alcohol is the devil.

 

 

With that said, judges often balance their personal beliefs with their public duty to protect children. At times, the judge’s personal beliefs about alcohol will be outweighed by the duty to protect children when claims of alcohol abuse are raised.

Alcohol abuse is especially concerning to judges when:

• Erratic and unstable behavior is present due to alcohol use;
• Alcohol mixed with mental health issues or violent tendencies;
• Alcohol plays a role with child abuse or domestic violence;
• Allegations of abusive behavior when drunk;
• Restraining Order of Protection that is based on alcohol abuse;
• Alcohol related arrests or negative behavior; and
• History of driving while intoxicated.

It does not pay to be in denial about substance abuse when a child custody or visitation case is looming.  On one hand, your judge probably will not be overly concerned by occasionally having a glass of wine with dinner.   On the other hand, your judge will be concerned if you begin each morning by pouring whiskey into your coffee to survive the day.

Now is the time to get real with yourself when a custody or visitation case is around the corner. Today is the day to “clean out your closet” and confront your relationship with alcohol.

 

DENIAL IS A BAD STRATEGY IN FAMILY COURT

 

To start – do you have an alcohol problem? Are you self-medicating with alcohol to numb emotional pain?  Be completely honest with yourself.  Denial is a bad strategy in family court.

Denying substance abuse is an ineffective strategy because tests are readily available that can detect how much alcohol one is consuming.  The court can and likely will require you to take an alcohol test that can detect abusive levels of drinking.  The higher you score on this alcohol test, the more it will negatively impact your case.

I’m not an addiction expert.  With that said, you likely have a drinking problem if you cannot stop consuming abusive levels of alcohol while your divorce/child full custody case is looming.  Abusive levels of drinking can and will haunt your child full legal custody case.

Has alcohol been a sore spot in your relationship – or an issue in the past?  If this is the case, history will likely repeat itself and alcohol will likely be an issue in your custody or divorce.  Do not numb the pain of your separation or divorce with alcohol.  Don’t party your pain away.

Now is the time to get real with yourself about your level of drinking.  In doing so, seek professional help if you have a problem with alcohol.  Be proactive and address alcohol issues before being court ordered to seek treatment.

 

CHILD FULL LEGAL CUSTODY AND SMOKING WEED/MARIJUANA

 

Weed is one of the biggest gray areas in family law.  Each judge tends to have varying beliefs and opinions about weed’s impact on a child’s best interests.  Now that weed is legal in New Mexico – some judges that were formerly conservative about weed are loosening up and more understanding about marijuana.

Allegations of smoking weed become more serious when:

• Weed is consumed to an extend that impacts the parent’s ability to care for the child; and
• Other issues are combined with weed.

Small issues add up to a win with child full custody & parental visitation cases.  Marijuana is one of the small/gray area issues that can add up to a win.  Standing alone, smoking weed probably will not tip the scales in favor of one parent – especially if both parents smoke.

With that said, weed can tip the scales in one parents favor when:

• The other parent does not smoke;
• The child is very young;
• The non-smoking parent has always been the child’s primary caregiver; and
• The smoking parent has other issues that impact stability or ability to care for the child.

Will smoking weed hurt your child legal custody case?  Maybe.  Will smoking weed help your child full custody case? No.  To present the strongest case possible, avoid smoking weed.

 

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AND OPIATES — HOW SUBSTANCE ABUSE IMPACTS CHILD FULL LEGAL CUSTODY AND PARENTAL VISITATION

 

Prescription drugs are like alcohol and weed.  Although prescription drugs are legal, judges can be concerned when prescription drugs are being abused.  Some conservative judges may be concerned if a parent is taking a mind-altering prescription drug for long periods of time.

Several years ago, the assigned judge in a custody case required one parent to take several drug tests regarding Valium.  The tests were required because the parent had consumed valium for several years – and other baseless claims were raised.

The allegations of abusing prescription drugs ultimately went nowhere.  With that said, the claims still resulted in the hassle of repeated drug tests, to prove that the prescription was not being abused.

 

COCAINE, METHAMPHETAMINE, HEROIN, AND FENTANYL

 

In the court’s eye, there is a huge difference between legal drugs like alcohol/weed and serious narcotics such as cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.  Testing positive for any of these heavy drugs will destroy your case.

 

 

Supervised parental visitation likely will be necessary if you test positive for a serious, mind-altering narcotic.  Moving forward, the court probably will require supervised parental visitation until a clean drug test is provided.  Even then, the court may require the parent to demonstrate a commitment to continued sobriety until child visitation becomes unsupervised.

 

BEST CHILD FULL CUSTODY ATTORNEY ANSWERS HOW SUBSTANCE ABUSE IMPACTS CHILD FULL CUSTODY AND PARENTAL VISITAITON IN ALBUQUERQUE

 

Do you suspect that the mother or father of your child has a substance abuse issue that affects your child?  Are you being accused of abusing drugs or alcohol?  Either way, you need the best child custody lawyer on your side that understands New Mexico law and procedure.  Matthew Sanchez has handled child full legal custody cases across New Mexico, including: Rio Rancho, Los Lunas, Belen, Gallup, Santa Fe, Estancia/Socorro. Speak with the child full custody lawyer in New Mexico. Speak with (505) SANCHEZ.