How to Address Drug or Alcohol Abuse in Your Illinois Parenting Plan

 Posted on March 06, 2019 in Family Law

If you have young children and are divorcing a spouse who abuses drugs or alcohol, Illinois law provides a process for restricting an individual’s parenting time and parental responsibilities. Illinois law 750 ILCS 5/603.10 calls for a court hearing at which attorneys from both sides may present evidence.

In preparation for this hearing, you want to work with a skilled family lawyer to compile as much documentation as possible. Write down everything you remember about specific incidents that demonstrate your spouse’s issues. You may ask friends and family to write down their recollections of specific instances as well. If your spouse has ever been arrested for DUI, drug possession, or disorderly conduct, those police reports can be used to prove your case. Medical records showing stints in rehab or even bank records displaying frequent liquor store purchases could be helpful as well.

Illinois Court Orders to Protect Children

If the court finds your spouse has “engaged in any conduct that seriously endangered the child’s mental, moral, or physical health or that significantly impaired the child’s emotional development,” the court may issue one or more orders that the judge deems necessary. In particular, the court will consider whether a parent has used “drugs, alcohol, or any other substance in a way that interferes with the parent’s ability to perform caretaking functions.”

These orders may include:

• Requiring a parent to abstain from possessing or consuming alcohol or non-prescribed drugs during parenting time and within a specified time frame immediately preceding their parenting time;
• Requiring a parent to complete a treatment program for drug or alcohol abuse;
• Requiring a parent to submit to drug or alcohol testing, possibly even having to pass a breathalyzer test before the children are released to them;
• Requiring the exchange of the child between the parents through an intermediary or in a protected setting;
• Reducing or eliminating parental decision-making responsibilities and/or parenting time; and
• Ordering the Department of Children and Family Services to exercise supervision, which may include home studies and DSFS monitoring of parenting time.

In making its determinations about a parenting plan, the court may interview the child in chambers with counsel present. The court may also seek the advice of professionals to interview the parents and children to assist the court in determining the best interests of the children. You and the child’s other parent may also hire your own evaluators.

Trusted DuPage County Parenting Time Lawyers

If you are concerned about your children’s safety when they are in the care of their other parent, bring this to the attention of a skilled attorney and the court so it can be taken into account before your parenting plan is approved. An experienced Lombard, IL parenting time lawyer can help. Call Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices at 630-932-9100 for a free initial consultation.