I have a friend who is in the middle of a child custody battle with the father of her children, he has physical custody at this time and the children are with him most of the time. My friend has been seeing this man who has record of being an excessive drinker. He has not been violent towards her or the children, but he does have an alcohol problem. Can the fact that they are getting married now make things more difficult for her and her child custody battle?

ANSWER:

Yes, that would certainly make things more difficult for her if she’s fighting for custody of her children. Actually just having a man in her life that had an alcohol problem and will be around the children is also to make her child custody battle even more difficult than it already is. In a child custody battle the court will always determine where the best location for the children is, not what the parents want. The judge will obviously taken the consideration that this woman is marrying a man, who has an alcohol problem and will spend significant amount of time with the children if she was adjudicated custody of the children. Just look at it from the judge’s point of view, are you going to put children in a stable home without any drug or alcohol issues or are you gonna place them in a home where you know there’s an issue with alcoholism. What do you think the best location for the children would be, without taking into account having one of them as a friend? Obviously being around an alcoholic is not good for children and if your friend is serious about having custody of her children she should be much more selective about the men she allows to be in her life and around her children. Sometimes attorneys not only fight for our clients, we are also there to point them in the right direction for a more productive life.
Joseph F. Botelho, Esq.

BOTELHO LAW GROUP
Attorneys At Law

901 Eastern Ave.
Unit 2
Fall River, MA 02723

Office:  888-269-0688

Email: jbotelho@botelholawgroup.com

https://www.botelholawgroup.com/

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