How Can my Criminal Record Impact my Timesharing Arrangement?

A criminal history can have a significant impact on your timesharing agreement. Although it is generally in a child’s best interest to have an ongoing relationship with each parent, the court may limit a parent’s time with his or her child or even terminate his or her parental rights if it determines that a relationship with the parent is harmful to the child. A parent’s criminal activity can harm his or her child physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

Violent crimes and crimes against children can impact a parent’s timesharing agreement more heavily than a white collar crime, especially if the offense happened years or decades prior. Courts also take issues involving addiction and drug crimes very seriously when creating timesharing arrangements.

The Court Can Limit your Parenting Time

The court will always rule in the manner that it believes to be in your child’s best interest. It considers multiple factors when determining an appropriate timesharing arrangement for a child, which include a parent’s history of domestic violence and any other criminal activity that could potentially impact the child.

If the court feels that spending time in your home would put your child’s health or safety at risk in some way, it might require that your time with your child take place elsewhere, which could be in the child’s home or in a public setting. It could also impose one or more of the following limits on your parenting time:

• No overnight visits;
• Certain individuals may not be present during the visit;
• Requiring that the visits be supervised, either by the child’s other parent or another adult;
• Prohibiting you from consuming alcohol or other substances during your parenting time; and
• Restricting where you can take your child during your parenting time.

You Can Show that you are Not a Threat to your Child

The court may modify a timesharing arrangement after the parent receives appropriate help for the issues he or she faces, such as completing an anger management course or substance addiction treatment. Moving to a new home can also be a a reason to modify your timesharing arrangement.

To modify your timesharing arrangement, you must show that your circumstances have substantially changed and that the proposed change would be in your child’s best interest. You can demonstrate that your circumstances changed with documents showing that you received treatment, completed your sentence, and cut off contact with the parties that were deemed to be harmful to your child.

Draper Law Office Advocates for Parents Seeking Time with their Child

For legal guidance and representation as you demonstrate your fitness as a parent to the court, work with one of the experienced family lawyers at Draper Law Office. Contact us online or by calling 866-767-4711 today to set up your free, no-obligation consultation in one of our two office locations: Orlando, and Kissimmee.