A married person filing for divorce in Illinois no longer has to provide grounds for this action, which was the case years ago. Back then, the person might have cited alcoholism as grounds, but substance abuse now does not affect aspects such as property division or other practical matters in a divorce case. However, this person’s Divorce Lawyer in Rockford IL may use the factor of the spouse’s excessive alcohol use in an effort to gain primary physical custody of the children.
Relevant Evidence
For this strategy to work, a Divorce Lawyer in Rockford IL must be able to show that the addict’s behavior has a negative impact on the youngsters. This could mean that excessive alcohol use has caused the parent mental or physical health issues, or that one or more drunk driving convictions have occurred. The client may have evidence that the children are neglected when under the care of this parent.
If the parent has been behaving in a manner that frightens the children, this is also an important point of evidence. For instance, the police may have been called by a neighbor because the intoxicated individual was on the patio yelling for no apparent reason in the middle of the night. Even if he or she was not hollering at the kids, this type of behavior can be inexplicable and scary for them.
When Addiction Is Usually Not a Factor
The person who wants primary physical custody of the children will have a harder time of things if the other spouse always behaves appropriately around the kids and hasn’t gotten into any legal trouble. A judge may grant shared custody even if excessive drinking has been an issue for the partner. If this parent abstains from alcohol or only drinks in limited amounts during visitation or the temporary custody schedule, this works in his or her favor.
Family court judges usually want both parents to be fully involved in their children’s lives as much as possible. A lawyer with an organization such as Hampilos & Associates can help a married person learn whether or not fighting for full custody is reasonable in this particular situation.
