Could possession of a controlled substance and intent to deliver be grounds for termination of parental rights?
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Could possession of a controlled substance and intent to deliver be grounds for termination of parental rights?
My son’s father has been charged with multiple possession charges including controlled substance and intent to deliver. My son is 5 years old and his dad has only been out of prison for 3 years for a similar conviction. The father will be facing more time in prison, so I was wondering if I have a case if I try to take away his custody?
Asked on July 12, 2010 under Family Law, Texas
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If the father has custody now, or if you are sharing joint legal custody, I think there's an excellent chance that the new charges will be enough for you to win a motion to get sole legal custody for yourself. Terminating parental rights probably isn't going to happen, at least not now.
You have two good arguments to make on the custody issue. First, courts don't usually see drug dealers as very good parenting candidates, especially repeat offenders. Second, once he's convicted and sentenced, his enforced absence from your son's life makes a difference, too.
Terminating parental rights altogether doesn't usually happen unless one of two things happens. One of these is a lawsuit by the child protective services agency, and that's almost always based on either abuse or neglect that seriously endangers the child. The other is when the parent with custody remarries and the new spouse seeks to adopt the child; the natural parent has to be given notice of the adoption case, and if the adoption is granted part of that will be the termination of rights.
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