Q: Kids Father has suspend Lics, Multiple DUI & Filing for Joint Custody. Can i counter w/ full & Supervised wkend Vists
My Kids Father has lost his past Job from DUI charges, he doesn't have a stable home and bounces back and forth from his mothers & sisters house. He currently has a suspended licenses and charges for a failure to install interlock device in his car and he still drives to work. We never had a need for a custody agreement because we've always agreed on a bi-weekly & holiday arrangement and It's worked well. If he wanted them on my weekends too for an event it was never an issue and vise versa. But now that he has a suspended license i have given him grief on taking the kids because he doesn't care to put them in car seats. Now he's filing joint because he claims to want more of a vocal present in their lives which he had in the past if he ever called at a decent hour. I've got proof that he had them with no car seat, and proof i've included him in their lives via text. I've informed him about games and activities that he never attends. I want to counter for full and supervised visits.
A:
Sure. Once a custody matter is initiated the court decides what custody is appropriate unless there is an agreement between the parties. The first thing you should understand is there are two types of custody, legal and physical. The preference, almost always, is for shared legal custody. You are both parents you are both entitled to make decisions. With regards to physical custody there are sixteen factors that the court considers for determining whats in the best interest of the children. His substance abuse issues definitely touches on one of the factors.
You can ask for whatever you want. What you will get may be something less than what you want and less than he wants. The best way to approach a case like this is to contact a local attorney and work through the case with them. Talk about each of the factors and let them help you for a hearing. Trying case is in court is what attorneys do. Therefore, we know what the judges want to hear and what they dont and can help make your argument tailored to the judge. The truism in all of this is it costs less to have them in the beginning than it does to try to fix what you did without them (this has held true in every custody case Ive been involved with where they didnt have an attorney in the beginning).
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