Family Law



Family Law

Addiction comes in many forms. In fact, the definition of addiction has been expanding and morphing since the mid-1990s. We have now noticed in our cases that addictions such as gambling; internet; pornography; obsessive collecting; social networking and/or food and plastic surgery addictions have come into play in connection with custody matters. Prior to the 1990s, it seemed that the “addictions” that were the subject of custody and parenting time were limited to alcoholism; drug addiction; and/or gambling. It is through both the increase in divorces and the increase of treatment available for various “tangential” addictions that other addictions affecting a parent's ability to parent and/or have direct contact with a child have come to be the primary focus of many divorce and/or custody cases.

At the time this article is being written, the news replete with stories of addiction whether it is Charlie Sheehan's most recent drug fueled binge or, in the past, Britney Spears shaving her head most likely to avoid the hair follicle result evidencing drugs in her system. Addictions, conservatively, affect one in six Americans and they are prevalent, disproportionately, in divorce. The reason that addiction is more prevalent in divorce than in the “cross-section of society” in general is that addictions often cause the break-up of marriages and/or can be the leading precipitating factor of a divorce, to wit: the straw that broke the camel's back.

In the reported case, the father had hid his addiction and managed to “pass urine tests.” Urine tests have a limited range of as little as 72 hours, and alcohol and cocaine addiction together with all prescription narcotics, sometimes is neither not apparent by urine tests and/or may be masked by masking agents. Masking agents are solutions or remedies that can be found anywhere from GNC; vitamin shops and pharmacies. Attorneys must use corroborative testimony of individuals who have seen the person using drugs or knows of the pervasive addiction so that they can obtain an order directing a hair follicle test. The hair follicle test can go back as far as 60 through 90 days and the “masking” agents and shampoos that are used to cleanse hair follicles are often not effective. If a person shaves their hair or otherwise dies, bleaches or uses a masking agent in their hair, body hair is often taken.

Simple drug addiction cases often involve the loss of parenting time and custody. Addictions such as gambling; compulsive shopping; hoarding and collecting often result in the removal of children when the children become neglected due to the habit, the environment around the home (being unhealthy or unclean) and/or the loss of finances needed to care for the basic needs of the children. It is difficult to handle these cases when a bottom is not reached by the parents and we have represented compulsive gamblers in court and have won custody for them. Indeed, one recent case comes to mind where the gambler listed gambling as his profession and earned more than ...