Vancouver Calgary Parenting Time Alcohol Lawyers at award winning Maclean Law deal with cases where parenting time or child contact is denied, supervised or made conditional when a parent’s alcohol or drug abuse impairs their parenting capacity.
MacLean Family Law has won Best Family Law Firm for 3 out of the last 4 years and won back to back awards for Best* Family Law firm in Vancouver for 2016 and 2017.
*Top Choice Award (2014, 2016, 2017).
Lorne N. MacLean, QC our founder was the winning counsel on one of Canada’s most important family law cases, the Supreme Court of Canada case of Young v. Young, the leading case on the principle of “maximum contact” in child custody cases.
When you want a team of top* Vancouver Calgary Parenting Time Alcohol Lawyers, call us at 1-877-602-9900 or click here to meet at any of our 6 offices across BC and in Calgary.
*(Top Choice Award (2014, 2016, 2017), top rated reviews on Google, Yelp, threebestrated, lawerratingz.com).
Impaired driving charges, roadside suspensions, family violence while one parent is intoxicated or incidents where children are hurt or unsupervised due to a spouse’s alcohol or drug abuse will result in restrictions on parenting time and how it is exercised. These conditions and restrictions can include:
- Random drug and alcohol screens,
- hair testing,
- remote ongoing drug and alcohol monitoring,
- professional supervision so the parent in question is not allowed to be alone with the child and
- even denial of contact
- rehabilitation treatment and counselling
- mandatory attendance at AA or NA meetings
are options available to the court to protect children.
Our skilled Vancouver Calgary Parenting Time Alcohol Lawyers will assess unfair allegations of drug or alcohol abuse as well as aggressively protecting children and obtaining conditional, supervised or even suspending contact until the addicted parent gets the help they need.
Vancouver Calgary Parenting Time Alcohol Lawyers 1-877-602-9900
In Bentley v Bentley a recent BC Supreme Court decision a judge reviewed the facts and the law and kept a 50/50 parenting plan in place despite allegations the mother abused alcohol where some of the allegations were old and the current complaints lacking in detail:
[62] As set out at the beginning of these Reasons, the central issue between the parties is the appropriate parenting arrangements for the two children and, more particularly, whether the respondent’s alleged drinking problem and related behaviour warrant an order that the children live primarily with the claimant.
[63] Section 37(1) of the Family Law Act, S.B.C. 2011, c. 25 [FLA] stipulates that when making an order concerning parenting arrangements or contact with a child, the sole factor to consider is the best interests of the child.
[64] Section 37(2) provides that in determining the child’s best interests, all of the child’s needs and circumstances must be considered, including a number of specific, enumerated factors.
[65] Much of the focus of the claimant’s case was on events that occurred before the respondent entered the treatment program and I accept that many of the incidents and behaviours described gave rise to legitimate concerns about the impacts of the respondent’s drinking on the children.
[66] The evidence about events since the respondent left the program is less compelling and amounts to little more than speculation on the claimant’s part about the respondent’s current drinking habits. More to the point, the evidence is also speculative about what impact, if any, there is on the children, as reflected in comments the claimant made during his testimony that he is concerned about “what else is going on with the kids” and “what are the kids withholding”?
[67] The claimant’s view of the respondent is well summarized in his statement that “parents should be a good example for the kids; instead, she drinks and smokes”. While his point about parents leading by example is fair, few parents are perfect and the real issue is whether the respondent’s conduct is such that the best interests of the children are being harmed by them continuing to spend equal time in her care.
[68] I am not satisfied that the best interests of the children would be best served by changing the current equal parenting regime. I come to this conclusion for the following reasons.
Vancouver Calgary Parenting Time Alcohol Lawyers And Proof Of Alcohol or Drug Abuse
[69] First, the evidence does not establish that the respondent currently abuses alcohol. As noted above, the claimant’s evidence about the respondent’s drinking is speculative and tends to reflect his moral view about her lifestyle rather than proving that she is engaging in harmful or destructive behaviour.
[70] The claimant cites a number of cases in which the courts have restricted one parent’s time with the children due to alcohol issues: Pidgeon v. Pidgeon, 2011 BCSC 851 [Pidgeon], R.M.B. v. B.H.B., 2013 BCSC 148 [R.M.B.], and Sandhu v. Sandhu, 2010 BCSC 998 [Sandhu].
[71] In my view, these cases are distinguishable. In both Pidgeon and R.M.B., there were comprehensive reports before the court recommending that primary care of the children be with one parent because of the other parent’s alcohol abuse (Pidgeon at para. 163 and R.M.B. at paras. 18 and 32). In Sandhu, the court concluded that the defendant father was not ready to carry out the responsibilities of a shared parenting arrangement due to his alcohol abuse (at para. 43).
Vancouver Calgary Parenting Time Alcohol Lawyers And Parenting Capacity Impairment
[72] Here no such report exists and the evidence does not establish that the respondent is unable to carry out her parental responsibilities (see D.P.G. v. V.M.G., 2015 BCSC 1038 at para. 41).
[73] Before leaving this point, I would observe that the respondent had a tendency in her evidence to minimalize her past alcohol issues and she was dismissive of the claimant’s concerns about her current alcohol consumption. Her attitude is reflected in her comment, referred to above, that she could “quit tomorrow” if she wanted to.
[74] There was no evidence about the ability of someone like the respondent who had an acknowledged previous alcohol problem to continue to drink socially, although as noted her post-treatment care recommendations included complete abstinence. It is not unreasonable for the claimant to be concerned that the respondent is not complying with these recommendations, but again the evidence does not establish that she currently abuses alcohol.
Vancouver Calgary Parenting Time Alcohol Lawyers kn0w that Parents who have issues and who acknowledge the problem and seek help should be applauded by lawyers and the courts. Vancouver Calgary Parenting Time Alcohol Lawyers also know that people who live in denial of substance abuse and have trouble managing their own lives may need tough love to get the help they need.
Vancouver Calgary Parenting Time Alcohol Lawyers Help Both Parents Be The Best Caregivers
Shouldn’t we have parents at their best capacity for their childcare parenting time?
We think the answer is obvious. If you feel your spouse isn’t acting in the best interests of your children because of alcohol or drug dependency, call us immediately for help. We think your spouse will thank you for taking action after they get the help they need.
