Drugs and Child custody

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exidous
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2016 11:44 pm

Drugs and Child custody

Post by exidous » Wed Aug 31, 2016 11:49 pm

Hi,

I've got a friend who had about 7 grams of weed and like .5 g of speed confiscated from his house. He had primary custody of his son. So far no criminal charges have been filed. My question is, would this minor amount of drugs he was caught with in his house be grounds for him to lose custody of his son? Ive got no idea about Finnish family law but the guy is totally depressed and thinks he will never see his son again. Does not get along well with his ex. so Im wondering from a strictly legal standpoint.

Also this guy is on disability from a work injury. Would he be eligible for legal aid for any sort of custody battles?

The guy is pretty devastated, any info people could provide is appreciated.

Cheers.



Drugs and Child custody

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Flossy1978
Posts: 1395
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:38 pm

Re: Drugs and Child custody

Post by Flossy1978 » Fri Sep 02, 2016 12:27 pm

Yes. He should be able to get some form of cheaper legal aid.

And probably Social Services will get involved. A fit parent is one who does not do illegal drugs like nasty speed. Even if your friend claims the drugs were not his. They were in his house. Not a good environment for a child to grow up in. I hope the child is put in a safer environment. Your friend has a tough lessen to learn now.

Hopefully this will wake your friend up now.

It is possible he'll just get a slap on the wrist and any loss of custody will come from the child's mother filing for keeping the child.

Good luck.

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rinso
Posts: 3949
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 7:22 pm

Re: Drugs and Child custody

Post by rinso » Fri Sep 02, 2016 1:15 pm

He had primary custody of his son.
What do you mean by this? Is it joint custody and the child lives with him? Or has the mother lost or given up custody?
In the first case the mother can apply for full custody and social services (or a judge) will decide if your friend is fit as a father.
In the second case it is unlikely that there will be drastic action for a first time offense.

leisl
Posts: 422
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:26 pm

Re: Drugs and Child custody

Post by leisl » Fri Sep 02, 2016 7:04 pm

A custody decision has nothing to do with whether it's a first offence or whether it's a criminal offense, whether he is fined, whether he goes to court, yarda. You said custody in the heading but then said strictly legal perspective... the two things don't dance and don't work that way. A change to a custody arrangement is made based on the best interests of the child. CHILD. I know it seems silly to repeat it, but your friend is thinking of himself, and nobody cares about that, law included... everyone has to think about the child. Child comes first. If he approaches everything from that, things become crystal clear.

If all other things are equal, the best place for the child is now with the mother where the kid won't accidentally play with daddy's herbs and powder. Sorry, I'm on Team Flossy here, part of being a parent is putting the kid first, which means they don't get to play with party favours at home anymore. Tough luck.

As it goes... these things are rarely "all things equal" and obviously depends on why he has primary custody, whether there was a previous fight over it, etc. So firstly it requires that either the mother or the authorities see fit to change the custody arrangement. And if they do, other things come into play, such as the home, the relationship with both parents, things like the community, extended family, childcare arrangements, school, etc. All too complex for us to guess at without knowing how this arrangement came about.


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