fbpx

Ex-Spouse on Drugs – How to Take the Child Away from this Bad Situation

Marina Shepelsky
Marina Shepelsky
1 (866) 503-2749

Ex-Spouse on Drugs – How to Take the Child AwaWhat you can do if you find out your child is now around drugs because your ex-spouse became an addict or is dating a drug user. Divorce Attorney Marina Shepelsky explains how you can change the child custody arrangement.

Michael Levitis 00:00


Good everybody. This is Michael Levitis with Marina Shepelsky divorce attorney. Marina is a participating attorney on jurisq.com, a legal network with questions and answers. And what we encourage people to do is send us your questions on the legal matters in different practice areas. And then we find attorneys that will work with to answer these questions. And Marina is one of our most popular speakers on the family law and relationships. And we have a few questions that came in specifically from Marina. And I want to today discuss one question, a very serious question. And here this, our viewer asks the following his ex wife had the daughter had the custody of the daughter for the past six years since divorce. However, he suspects that his ex spouse is doing heavy drugs. And she’s dating. What he says is a bad druggie dude, she’s dating a drug user. He is very concerned for him for their daughter. And he’s asking what is the first step that he could undertake to get the daughter out of this bad drug abuse situation?

Marina Shepelsky 01:30


This this is not like a commonly seen situation, but it happens. Sure, when people get divorce, more than half of the time, the mom gets physical custody of the children, right? Because it’s kind of accepted in our society that kids should be more with their mom, they need their mom, a little bit more than dad for physical custody purposes. Of course, dad is the one who has to participate in their lives. And whatever, six years ago, they probably signed a contract of settlement, they settled in divorce, financial fights, and everything having to do with custody visitation, and the best interests of their children, because their two parents who were like in the right mind, right in the right frame of mind, time passed. And now the mother is not such a good mother anymore. Now she, she’s using drugs, and she’s bringing a drug user around the child, right? So now this situation has changed, where the mother doesn’t have the best judgment anymore, doesn’t have the child’s best interest in mind. And I use those words very specifically, because these are legal terms that come up in family court, right. So the judge is looking at the best interest of the child for determining custody. This is the situation where the father should file a petition with family court, or you can go back to the Supreme Court where the divorce position to really determine custody, to modify summarize,

Michael Levitis 03:04


What you’re saying is that even if everything was agreed upon, six years ago, it was going fine for a few years, you can still ask the judge to revisit this issue. And the arrangement, right?

Marina Shepelsky 03:19


Absolutely. And it’s going to be a challenge, because the mother has primary custody. So that means it’s always difficult to undo the like the custody where the parent has custody for six years has had the custody. And now you’re saying all that goes in the garbage, we need a new situation setup. So the courts are always hesitant to just do that on their own right. So what’s gonna happen is, right, so what’s gonna happen is first, you should definitely file a petition for modify custody, and include all of your allegations, as we call them include all of your information and evidence. If you have any pictures or anything the child told you, the next thing that’s going to happen is the court will appoint an independent

law guardian for the children, that’s an attorney whose only job is to represent the child. Their interests are the child’s interest, and they speak for the child in court as an attorney.

Michael Levitis 04:20


That’sright.

Marina Shepelsky 04:23


It’s an independent party of the independent party and you’re actually prime attorneys or special organization that has attorneys working for it, who are all guardians or sometimes attorney for the child. If you go back to Supreme Court, there might be a fight about who pays for it, but the judge will definitely appoint a private attorney Guardian, and somebody’s going to pay for it and that’s gonna come up they’ll probably want to see your income tax returns and pay stubs to see. You know, if the judge finds the situation to be serious enough that they needs to be a little guardian, that means you’re paying for the giant pyramid. And then who pays for it out of the two parents is going to come up in terms of income. But a lot of times it’s 5050. If the father, for example, makes a lot more money, so maybe the father pays 80%, and the mom pays 40%, that’s definitely going to get determined. That’s something that comes

Michael Levitis 05:22


To clarify. That doesn’t apply just to drugs, any kind of bad situation, where you think your child may be in, you can apply through a judge to undo prior custody agreement and do a new one based I knew right.

Marina Shepelsky 05:40


The rule of thumb is judgment of the parent, the custodial parent doesn’t have good judgment. And the rule of thumb is they’re violating what what the original was decided to be best interest of the child and what the court considers to be in the best interests of the child, I don’t think anybody’s going to argue that, you know, a mother who is on drugs and has a drug user using drugs potentially openly around the child is not in the best interest of the child, right? Then it’s likely that law Guardian will get involved in organization in New York at school ACS Administration for Children’s Services, they mean, they employ social workers. So they will probably send a social worker to the parents houses, both mom and dad, even speak to the child. And they will see the situation and then it depends on how bad it gets. But they even sometimes, you know, put situations in place where Mother will lose custody, she will have only supervised visitation, she will have to do some sort of drug program and quit, you know, rehab, and so on. So there’s many layers to this. We don’t know all the details, obviously. But you definitely should get an attorney, you should definitely file a petition with either family court where the law Guardian is free, but it’s more of a zoo, or the Supreme Court to just go back to the same judge who did your divorce, and then you’ll have to pay for the law Guardian, and then forensic psychologist potentially, as well. And it’s just going to be a little more civilized, but you will, you know, it’s gonna be more expensive. Frankly, I’m just being honest with you.

Michael Levitis 07:24


Thank you for your advice. It seems like it’s a real legal procedure. And it’s always best to consult an attorney before you do anything. And I believe never, never take this matter in your own hands. The last thing you want to do is a specific take a child away, you will go through a court because you take a

child with to go to attorney first consult, get an opinion, get prepared because anything court it’s a battle. To go to battle, you have to prepare. Yes, and the first call attorney, Marina Shepelsky. The phone number is in the bottom of the screen for any of your family law, matrimonial divorce needs or questions. And we welcome any other questions you have. We have a whole list of questions from our viewers, but we’re always looking to answer more what we can do to help the public to educate the public. Marina, thank you so much for your time. Thank you everybody for tuning in. Until next time, have a great day. Bye bye

Marina Shepelsky 08:40

 Bye

0 Comments

All posts for Divorce Law

Partial Use of Divorce Mediation: Exploring Effective Strategies and Benefits

In this illuminating video, Divorce Law Attorney Alla Kurolapnik dives into the concept of partial use of divorce mediation. Attorney Kurolapnik explains how partial use allows couples to selectively utilize mediation for specific aspects of their divorce, such as child custody arrangements or financial settlements. Discover how this flexible approach can save time, reduce costs, and promote more efficient negotiations.



read more

Understanding the Vital Role of a Divorce Mediator in Resolving Conflicts

Curious about the crucial role of a divorce mediator in the separation process? Join Divorce Law Attorney Alla Kurolapnik in this insightful video as she unravels the responsibilities and significance of a divorce mediator.

With her vast experience in family law, Attorney Kurolapnik sheds light on how a skilled mediator can facilitate productive communication, foster cooperation, and guide couples towards amicable resolutions.

read more