What do I do to gain shared custody of my now 13-year-old child? I do not have a current job (due to a medical problem), and I am living in my parents’ house. I’m on a methadone program too.
You would likely:
need to show 1) that you are, despite your circumstances (and they are pretty dire, if you didn’t know that yourself), a parent who is fit to have shared custody of your children; and 2) that shared custody of your children is in their best interest.
or
need to show 1) that you have remedied your shortcomings by a) holding employment and being self-supporting, b) having your own stable, permanent residence that is clean and safe and has room for the child, c) being either drug-free or demonstrating that your drug addiction is under control and not likely to recur; and 2) that shared custody of your children is in their best interest.
That’s a tall order, and even if you could do all that, the court may not want to modify child custody in the interest of preventing the child from the “ping-pong” effect of having the custody order change as the parents’ circumstances may change.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277