How Substance Abuse Affects Child Custody Decisions
Are you in the middle of a child custody case and you believe that substance abuse could be a factor? My name is Carl Burkhead. I’m a family attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I’d like to talk with you about how substance abuse can impact your case.
I’m not going to get into it too much with illegal substances, you know, meth, heroin, things like that. If you’re using any sort of illegal or illicit narcotics, it’s not going to go well for a custody case or any case for that matter.
Legal vs. Illegal Substances
I want to focus more on using legal or permissible substances, such as alcohol, or medical marijuana has been a big thing that has come up recently, or maybe even prescription medication. I’ve been doing this for about seven years now, and substance abuse comes up more than just about anything else.
I’ve had plenty of cases where parents want to fight out about, you know, I want drug tests on both sides, or whatever the case may be. So I’m going to talk with you a little bit about how I’ve seen courts handle alcohol use or things like that, and then maybe a little bit also about filing a motion for drug testing.
Responsibility and Moderation
A lot of courts are starting to treat medical marijuana as if it’s kind of like alcohol. You’ve got the card and you’re going to do it, don’t use it to a point that it impairs your ability to parent the kids. Essentially, moderation is the best course of action.
If you feel like the parent in your case is using, you know, overusing legal drugs or using illegal narcotics, you can always ask your Tulsa child custody attorney to file a motion for drug testing. The courts will usually have the person filing pay for that motion.
Low-Cost Initial Strategy Session
If you have any questions about this or if you think that this is something that might be beneficial to you in your case, please reach out to us. My name is Karl Burkett. I’m at Wirth Law Office and you can find us at MakeLawEasy.com. To schedule a low-cost initial strategy session, please call 918-879-1681.
