Mental Health Issues and Custody

When spouses face divorce and minor children are involved, the court must establish parental responsibility and timesharing (also known as custody), based upon the children’s best interests. Florida law begins with the rebuttable presumption that equal timesharing with both parents is in the best interests of the child. The court will consider a wide range of “best interest factors” in reaching any decisions affecting the children. Mental illness is not an automatic bar to having custody, in fact in most cases it will not prevent a parent from sharing time with their child. But when mental illness negatively affects the parent’s ability to care for and make rational decisions regarding the child, it may have a bearing on the amount of time that parent is awarded.

In cases where there is concern over timesharing between children and a mentally ill parent, there are several remedies a Florida court may consider. A court may prohibit overnight visitation, order supervised visitation, require a mentally ill parent to attend regular meetings with mental health professionals and comply with treatment plans, or if serious enough, may prohibit timesharing completely.

In extreme cases, when mental health issues are so severe that one parent is too mentally ill to have a role in the child’s life, or when a mentally ill parent has caused serious harm to child, and it is shown that the mental illness is expected to continue indefinitely, the court may order termination of parental rights. Termination of parental rights is a permanent legal removal of the parent-child relationship.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse

A parent’s use or abuse of alcohol and drugs is another factor the court will consider when establishing custody. Moderate consumption of alcohol is not usually an issue, however alcohol or drug use that negatively affects a child will be considered when making a determination. If a parent has addiction issues, timesharing may be restricted to protect the child. The court can require a parent with an addiction to complete treatment and abstain from drug and alcohol use before and during any timesharing. If a parent fails to address drug or alcohol addiction issues they can lose timesharing and could inevitably lose parental rights.

If you have questions regarding divorce and mental health or substance abuse, you should consult with a Florida family law attorney to discuss the process and explore what options are available.