Knowing whether you can lose custody of your child for dating a felon is a complicated issue and one you need to explore to understand your rights. While dating a felon does not automatically mean you will lose custody of your child, the child’s other parent can use it as an argument against you in court.
The child’s other parent may argue that the child is in danger due to your dating partner, or that the fact you are dating a felon makes you an unfit parent. The weight of this argument will depend on a variety of factors, including your dating partner’s actual criminal record and your dating history.
If you are dating someone who had felon charges years early but has demonstrated a clear history since the risk is lower. For example, you may be dating someone who struggled with addiction, which included criminal charges related to their drug use. However, they have been clean and sober for a long time and have had no criminal issues since getting clean. It would be difficult to make the argument that the child is in danger when the criminal record is clearly in the past.
On the other side, if you are dating someone with recent felonies, open cases, or felonies that were violent or against children, your child’s other parent will have what they need to make a case against you in a custody hearing. As a single parent, the best approach you can take is by dating people that will not endanger your custody arrangements.
When you meet someone new, you can go online and do a background search to see if they have a criminal record. You do not need your date’s social security or other private information for a free inmate search by name. While you may not be able to find everything there is to know about a person, you can at least get vital information about their criminal past or present if they have one. Doing a background check will give you the information you need to determine if this is someone you want around your child.
It is also essential to keep in mind that your child’s other parent can also find any information you can find about your dating partner online. Trying to hide information from your child’s other parent is a futile effort because everything they could want to know can be found online through a simple search. Likewise, you can investigate anyone they are dating if that person is going to be around your child.
If you are in a custody battle with your child’s other parent, it is crucial to have the best representation possible. You have to be ready to fight for your child if you are pushed to by the other parent. Firms like Johnson & Taylor LLC have the experience and reputation needed to serve you as a parent best. They will thoroughly investigate the situation and fight for you to keep custody of your child. They can also provide you with sound legal advice on how you should move forward with your custody arrangement, and go over with your the basics of child custody.
If your custody lawyer believes your dating partner may put you at risk of losing custody of your child, you may have to make a difficult decision about your dating life. When fighting for custody, your dating history may also come into play, so it is essential always to keep that in mind when dating and sharing custody of your child with someone else. Shared custody is often a difficult situation, but there are things you can do to make it less stressful. Clear boundaries with the other parent and always putting the best interests of your child first are essential.