Can a Criminal History Hurt My Chances of Custody?

Your permanent criminal record may have hindered you from many opportunities in life thus far. For example, it may have limited your chances of gaining employment, getting approved for housing, securing financial resources like loans, and tarnished your social reputation amongst your family and friends. But now, as you face a divorce from your spouse, you may wonder if your past will come back to haunt you once more, and be brought up during child custody conversations. For this, please read on to discover whether a criminal history can negatively affect a custody decision and how one of the seasoned Clarksville child custody lawyers at Fendley and Birch can help you prove to the court that you can take care of your child adequately.

Can a criminal history hurt my chances of getting custody of my child?

The short answer is, yes, your criminal history does have a chance of hurting your potential child custody rights. The longer explanation is that the Tennessee family court may carefully consider the nature of the crime. For example, it may not help if you committed a violent crime like sexual assault, murder, or robbery. It is even worse if you were charged with domestic violence or kidnapping, in which your child was made the victim. The court may conclude that placing your child under your supervision may threaten their physical safety.

Besides violent crimes, the court may also not like it if you committed a substance abuse-related offense. This is because, even though this is in your past, the court may question whether, now or in the future, you will have drugs present in your household. Further, they may fear your child will be exposed to an unsafe living environment. What’s worse is if you have a history of substance abuse or addiction, as they may assume that this hinders your physical and mental capacity to supervise your child while they are under your care.

Can I expunge my criminal record before a child custody decision is made?

One legal strategy for your child custody proceedings that you may pitch is getting your criminal record expunged. However, first of all, you must understand that not every type of criminal offense is eligible for expungement. These may include certain sexual offenses, domestic assault, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, offenses involving firearms, and offenses involving substance abuse. Secondly, even if you qualify, it may not have been five years since you completed your sentence for the crime yet.

Lastly, you should know that even though an expungement stops employers, landlords, and creditors from accessing your criminal record, the same cannot be said for the Tennessee family court. It may still be worth pursuing, though. This is because, at the very least, you are proving to the court that you have served your time and learned your lesson from your last criminal offense. And now, you are ready to be truly present and a good parent to your child.

If you need help preparing for this upcoming legal battle, turn to one of the competent Clarksville family lawyers. We at Fendley and Birch have gone through this countless times before, and we are ready to go through it again to support you.