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Posted Feb 9th, 2012
I live in florida, want to know if I do have a chance to get full custody of my 4 year old daughter.

Additional Details:
I have been married for 5 years, and I became a stay at home mom when my daughter was born she
is turning 4 now. I have been looking for work and no luck. The strain of me not working I believe
has taken a toll in our marriage, my husband is always stressed out and takes cocaine, he is an
alcoholic and gambles. I don''t want our daughter growing up in this unstable environment, I have
been dealing with it divorce has never been an option for me, but it has gotten worse. I don''t want
my daughter to not see her dad, I just want full custody, so I can make sure she does get a stable
home, so I know she is safe from her dad when he gets toxic, he becomes paranoid and I''m just
afraid. He says that if I go to court and fight for custody the judge will be on his side and that I
can''t prove that he does drugs. He says there is this cleanser that cleanse you completely and it
will be my word against his. I don''t know what to do, I don''t want my daughter growing up in that
environment.
Legal Topic Area: Child Custody in FL

If one parent's behavior jeopardizes the safety of a child, the other parent may seek supervised time-sharing and sole parental responsibility over particular aspects of child care. Forms for a petition for dissolution of marriage (with children) and for a supervised safety-focused parenting plan are available at www.flcourts.org.

A parent who believes drugs or alcohol are impairing the other parent's ability to be a caretaker for their child may ask the court for entry of an order for random drug testing.

For someone who does not want to pursue divorce, family counseling or other avenues may be available to work on the problems. If, however, the offending parent is unwilling to acknowledge the problems, and the child is endangered from abuse, abandonment or neglect, then the Florida Department of Children and Families may need to step in, investigate the situation and remove the child from contact with the offending parent until the parent gets necessary help.


Answered on Feb 9th, 2012 at 1:33pm