Divorce is a difficult decision with or without children; however, when children are involved, the level of stress, anxiety, and complexity of the situation increase tenfold. Throw in an ‘unfit parent’ to the mix and the ability to prove that to the New Jersey courts, and you’ve got an especially difficult ordeal on your hands.
Defining an Unfit Parent in N.J.
In the eyes of the New Jersey legal system, to say that a parent is unfit is to say that he or she is incapable of providing a nurturing and safe environment for their child which ultimately places them at significant physical and/or emotional risk. Living conditions that might imply an unsafe environment include drug and alcohol addiction, emotional and mental illness, as well as anger management problems. The more obvious scenarios where a parent is easily identifiable as an unfit parent include abandonment or severely neglected children. However, there are many ‘gray’ areas where identifying a potentially harmful situation or unfit parent are harder to decipher – and a court demands solid evidence of such before considering a parent to be unfit. For this reason, seeking the advice of legal counsel to ensure the safety of your children is your first step in proving an unfit parent and providing a safe environment for your children.
Proving Unfitness
Substantial proof of the unfitness of a parent can include school records which show truancy or excessive absences (in cases where a parent cannot get their child to school on time or at all), medical records which indicate a pattern of abuse, psychological evaluations to support emotional claims, drug and alcohol screening to prove addiction claims, and domestic violence reports which indicate anger issues or actual physical abuse.
Seek Legal Advice
Seeking the advice of a qualified New Jersey child custody or family law attorney in New Jersey is crucial to ensuring a solid argument during your divorce case. By locating attorneys who specialize in family law and child custody issues, you receive the benefit of years of ‘hands-on’ knowledge and experience of dealing with child custody disputes and mitigating certain circumstances. Navigating the New Jersey legal system without expert legal advice is indeed a scary journey and one I would not want to take alone.
