If you are already in the midst of a divorce, it is never a good idea to obtain a DUI on top of that. The charge will show an irresponsibility as well as possible dangers to the courts that you never want to demonstrate when you are attempting to gain custody of your children. In many cases, the court will look at your case and see possible alcohol abuse, as well as choosing alcohol over safety the moment you got inside that car. It could actually lead to the courts believing that you pose a significant risk to children.
Of course, as with many charges, a DUI charge will not always be a deal breaker to the courts. This, of course, depends on existing circumstances from the past. Your spouse may take you to court and make a huge issue out of your DUI but the court will ultimately be looking at your background when they make considerations. If your history is not littered with DUI cases, then there will be a lesser impact on your custody case. If you have not had any previous run-ins with alcohol or drugs, then it is likely that this one event will not be used against you. It is also viewed that a DUI conviction may not actually affect your decision-making responsibilities on lesser matter for issues like choice of schools, extracurricular activities, religious education, cultural education, and so much more.
DUI Conviction: Dangerous Enough to Affect Custody?
Many people believe that a DUI conviction is not considered “dangerous” enough like many other convictions that a person could face. In fact, the court would definitely give more weight to convictions that involve domestic violence and drug abuse over a simple DUI conviction. However, this does not mean that you should go out and partake in this behavior under any circumstances because it could come back on you as a parent.
A drug conviction is not considered to be a crime of violence “per se.” However, they will hold it against you and make you meet many factors to obtain custody of your child. They may order a hair follicle drug test to reveal if you have been using drugs anytime in the past few months. If it comes back positive, they may order that your visitation be supervised because you could pose an imminent danger to your children with your charge. This is why it is very important that you obey all laws and make sure that you do everything in the best interest of your children when you are in the midst of a divorce.
Special Considerations
What happens if you are a father who had one DUI in college and now, years down the road, you are receiving a divorce and wonder how it will affect that? Honestly, the court system may not hold a lot of weight in this case. It may not be considered “pertinent” anymore. However, if you are a father who is already in the midst of a divorce and you receive a DUI during, this may not work to your benefit. It may show a more current alcohol problem that could affect your ability to make spur-of-the-moment decisions regarding everything involved in the case.
Call us today if you have divorce or custody matters and a DUI conviction to deal with. We are there for you through it all. At The Law Offices of Amy M. Montes, we can help you from start to finish in your case.
