You love your child so much despite the frosty relationship with your co-parent. In fact, you have primary custody of your little one. You are also a good co-parent. You respect your ex’s parental rights and have never interfered with the custody order.
However, there is a problem. You’ve had a run-in with the law, and you could be going to jail for some time. And this is why you are worried about your custody rights. So, does going to jail automatically mean that you will lose custody of your child?
Custody is a shared responsibility
Under normal circumstances, both parents have a right to spend time with their children. However, a parent won’t be able to do this if they are in jail. Even in light of this challenge, however, parents can still share responsibility if the court does not strip the jailed parent of their rights. For instance, key education or healthcare decisions may require the involvement of the incarcerated parent.
Convictions that can affect custody
Clearly, you may not lose custody of your child if the police detain you for a couple of hours because of a minor fracas with a neighbor. However, a conviction for serious crimes like assault, child abuse, sexual assault, drug or human trafficking or murder could cause problems.
In other words, if the court has reason to believe you might pose a risk to the child’s wellbeing, then your child custody rights will be in jeopardy. Likewise, a conviction for interference with the other parent’s visitation rights might also jeopardize your custody rights. Protecting your rights
Criminal charges can impact various aspects of your life. If the custody of your child gets into the mix, however, you need to figure out how to protect your parenting rights and interests.