Child custody is something that many parents hold near and dear to their hearts. The thought of losing the right to see their children and build a relationship with them is disheartening. For this reason, anyone who has a child custody order should understand some of the things that might happen that could make them lose custody of their children.
One of the most important things that you must do is to follow the terms of the court ordered custody. While it isn’t likely that minor issues, such as missing a visit, are going to lead to you losing custody, more serious issues might. For example, if you are required to take drug tests as part of the court order, you must comply with this as stated. You must also make sure that the results are going to show that you are living a sober life.
Another thing for you to do is to ensure that you are treating your child and others around you respectfully. Children can be taken away from an abusive parent, even if there is already a child custody order in place. In some cases, being accused of a violent crime might mean that you are temporarily unable to see your child until the resolution of the case. Your ability to have unsupervised visits would then hinge on the outcome of the case.
As troubling as it is to think that you might lose custody of your child, you mustn’t let this send you into a downward spiral. Instead, take the steps that you can to ensure that you aren’t doing anything that could cost you your children.
Source: FindLaw, “Common Reasons to Lose Child Custody,” George Khoury, Esq., accessed March 03, 2017