You have known for some time now that your partying has taken on a new intensity. In fact, either on your own or from the repercussions of difficult circumstances like an arrest or an accident, you acknowledge that you need some help in overcoming your addiction to drugs and/or alcohol.
However, you are a parent. If you enter a treatment facility, someone else will need to step in to take care of your children. Could this cause you to lose custody of the kids to your ex or a family member?
Understand that your custody rights are likely in jeopardy anyway
If your drinking or use of drugs has intensified to the point where you face arrest or intervention, you must realize that your children could be taken from you involuntarily anyway. Choosing to enter a detox and rehab center voluntarily gives you at least some control over whom will assume custody of the kids while you learn how to lead a sober life.
Get legal assistance with the custody transfer
Beware of signing open-ended custody agreements that don’t stipulate that this is a temporary custody transfer. Confer with your attorney to craft the agreement and include language in the document that limits this transfer until you have met certain sobriety goals.
Have you been blindsided by a loss of custody?
Some parents realize there is a problem but lack the initiative to seek help on their own. You could wind up having your children removed from your custody because of these situations. Should that occur, your best recourse is to seek legal intervention from the courts once you have gotten sober.