If you were in prison for a certain amount of time, you may wonder if you will retain your parental rights. This is a very serious question that can have drastic effects on your life, so it is important to understand how the law works in these cases. The good news is this: Unless you were convicted of a crime like murder or manslaughter, or you did not communicate with your child for a very long period of time, you will usually retain your rights.
In the eyes of the court, the nature of your prior convictions are extremely important. If there are charges for things like domestic violence and drugs, then these will become a significant factor in your custody proceedings. When the court sees that you have been in criminal trouble before and that it could affect your parenting in the future based on the nature of the offenses, you could be awarded limited or supervised custody of your child. Even something as “harmless” as a DUI in your eyes could become a big matter with the court, where the judge may assume that your reckless driving could have a negative impact on a minor child and could bar you from being with the child unsupervised.
What You Can Do
If you have been imprisoned, the most important thing that you can do is maintain constant contact with your children as much as you possibly can. If you do not visit or communicate with your kids for six consecutive months, you could have your parental rights taken away permanently on grounds of abandonment. The best thing that you can do is to speak to us today by calling us at The Law Offices of Amy M. Montes for more information on how to handle your case. Family courts do not have a perfect formula for determining child custody, so your case will be handled in the best way. Call us today for more.
