Call For A Free Consultation - (425) 200-6439
In this article, you will discover:
Many parents suffer from drug and alcohol abuse, and sometimes, parents make bad choices. However, having a DUI conviction does not necessarily make you a bad parent.
When it comes to weighing DUI convictions in making parenting plan decisions, the court considers the facts of each case:
Having a DUI conviction doesn’t automatically result in a restriction on your parenting time. However, having four DUIs suggests you have an issue with alcohol. In that case, the court will make you undergo an evaluation to determine whether your alcohol use has impacted your ability to care for your children.
The bottom line is: Does your substance abuse interfere with your ability to perform your parental duties? Many people who struggle with substance abuse can still function, can still feed their children, can get them to their activities, and pick them up on time. Ultimately, how (if at all) your substance use interferes with parenting will be a bigger overall issue than a single DUI.
DUIs are different from domestic violence convictions. Specifically, federal law has ruled that children who observe or are around domestic violence are protected in custody cases in the same manner as those who were personally victims of the violence.
With a DUI conviction, custody is based on whether that person’s behavior affects their ability to parent. If the DUI was a one-time occurrence 20 years ago when you were young, the court will likely consider that. Even if you have five DUIs from 20 years ago, you can conceivably tell the court you’re a changed person and have gone through treatment.
There’s a more profound trauma involved when there’s domestic violence. You could have a conviction from 20 years ago and still be subject to a restriction based on a history of domestic violence. By contrast, a DUI from 20 years ago may not weigh heavily in the court’s decision about a parenting plan for your children.
A DUI conviction wouldn’t result in a loss of legal custody. It takes a lot to lose your parental rights. Usually, that only occurs if you willingly relinquish your rights.
Even people with 20-page rap sheets and a history of being in Alcoholics Anonymous for 20 years don’t necessarily lose their custodial rights or physical custody. However, the court may impose conditions to ensure your child’s safety, including supervised visitation or treatment evaluations.
Attorney Diem Chi Nguyen is a skilled lawyer based in Renton, Washington, who has helped numerous clients like you navigate the intricacies of family law. With years of experience, she is prepared to assist you in minimizing the impact of a past DUI conviction on your custody case and parental rights.
Still have questions? Ready to get started? Contact DC Nguyen Law today to schedule an initial consultation.
The best course of action is to have a neutral third party tell the court in an evaluation that you don’t have a problem with drinking or drugs. The cost for such an evaluation is between $150 and $200.
State-certified evaluators speak to your “collaterals” – family members, friends, employers or healthcare professionals. They also perform urinalysis. They then determine whether you need any type of treatment.
Your follow-through and compliance with treatment is the best way to demonstrate to the court that you’re serious about being a responsible parent.
If the evaluation determines you have a problem, there are various other ways for you to prove you are a safe and responsible parent by addressing the issue head-on.
Once you have a DUI, you will be required to submit to evaluations regardless, even if the charge is amended down to reckless driving. Showing the court that you comply with whatever steps are recommended in the evaluation is the best way to prove to the court that your ability to parent is not an issue.
I had a case where I represented a mother. In this case, the father had an addiction to opioids for over 20 years.
The father’s residential time was contingent upon his complying with treatment requirements. Compliance allowed him to have lay supervision or no supervision. Every time he violated those treatment requirements, he returned to supervised visitation.
Throughout the time the couple was together, after separation and while the children were growing up, the father was in and out of supervised visitation.
Once the father focused and complied with everything the court required, such as updating his evaluation, following the updated treatment plans and providing the mother with documentation, he continued to have lay supervision. He is now on unsupervised visitation and is expanding his residential time.
I’ve also had situations where we have clients who undergo the evaluation, and the evaluation requires six months of outpatient treatment. While they receive outpatient treatment, they don’t attend certain classes or do all of the work.
That lack of compliance results in non-compliance orders that restrict their time, which can be frustrating for parents. The parent’s thought process is that they’ve complied by attending classes. However, going to these classes alone is not enough. They may also be required, for example, to have negative urinalyses and complete worksheets.
In all, when you haven’t complied with these tasks, the court deems that you are not serious about treatment and non-compliant with its orders. In these cases, your time may remain supervised, and supervised visitation is expensive. If you can’t afford it, then you don’t get visitation time with your children. As a result, it’s always best to comply with all required elements of your treatment plan.
For more information on DUI and child custody in Washington, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (425) 200-6439 today.
Attorney Diem Chi Nguyen is a skilled lawyer based in Renton, Washington, who has helped numerous clients like you navigate the intricacies of family law. With years of experience, she is prepared to assist you in minimizing the impact of a past DUI conviction on your custody case and parental rights.
Still have questions? Ready to get started? Contact DC Nguyen Law today to schedule an initial consultation.
