How Substance Abuse Affects Divorces in New York

Addiction is a serious matter and is the reason many marriages end. However, New York State is a “no-fault” state, meaning that a spouse does not have to cite a reason, such as drug or alcohol abuse, in order to obtain a divorce in New York, and few actually do.

Even though a spouse’s substance abuse may not be cited as the grounds for divorce, the issue could affect a New York divorce in several other ways.

Addiction Will Be a Factor in Custody Determinations

Substance abuse will have the most impact on determinations involving custody and parenting time. A court will want to ensure that the children’s best interests are being met, and will not want to place children in a situation that may be dangerous. Thus, if a parent has a substance abuse problem, they might not ultimately be awarded legal or physical custody of their children and their parenting time may be subject to certain restrictions.

The parent with the addiction may still be able to have access to their children, but it may be subject to the rules a court sets. The court could require visits to be supervised until the parent completes treatment for substance abuse or that the parent be monitored through a breathalyzer or other drug testing protocol prior to and during their access periods with the children. Some judges may not allow a parent to spend time with the children at all while the parent is in the throes of an addiction if the problem is found to be severe, particularly when the children are very young and unable to report what is happening to the other parent or another responsible adult.

Substance Abuse Could Affect Financial Issues

On the financial side, a spouse’s substance addiction may result in a finding of “marital waste”—i.e., that a spouse has dissipated assets in order to support an addiction to the financial detriment of the other party. In such a scenario, if one spouse spent a considerable amount of money on drugs or alcohol during the marriage, the other spouse may be entitled to a larger share of the marital estate. Similarly, any marital debt that accrued as the result of the addicted spouse’s behavior may be allocated to that spouse in its entirety. However, proving such a dissipation claim may be difficult if illicit drugs were purchased with cash.

At Mosberg Sharma Stambleck Gross, we know how to leverage our experience to find creative solutions to our clients’ difficult divorce issues, including those caused by a spouse’s substance abuse.

Call us today at 212-678-8500 to learn more about how we may be able to help you with your family or matrimonial law issues.