The Impact of Addiction on Your Divorce

Addiction is a chronic and often deadly disease that occurs when repeated exposure to certain substances (such as alcohol, painkillers, street drugs, etc.) alter the brain’s chemistry[1]. When someone has an addiction, they become obsessed with seeking the substances that reward the pleasure-seeking part of their brain, even if this harms other parts of their life[2]. Addiction can take over someone’s life, hampering their ability to hold a job, maintain a relationship, or properly care for themselves or their children. In fact, a University of Buffalo study found that 50% of marriages in which one spouse was a heavy drinker and the other was not ended in divorce[3].

In Palm Beach County, if you or your spouse have an addiction, it can strongly impact the outcome of your divorce, particularly in relation to your parenting responsibilities and financial arrangements.

Implications for Parenting Responsibilities

The parent who struggles with addiction is likely to lose parenting time and legal decision making for their child in South Florida. In some cases, that parent may be allowed visitation time with the child. Depending on the circumstances of the situation, the court may allow for unsupervised visitations, but often requires supervised visitations and restricts overnight visits. It’s also possible that the parent with an addiction be required to submit a clean drug test before visitations with their child.

After the divorce, if the parent with the addiction successfully completes a rehabilitation program and stays substance-free, they can petition the court to revise the parenting agreement so they can have more parenting time and decision-making responsibilities.

Implications for the Division of Finances

Florida’s laws require that marital assets are divided between the couple equitably, but not equally; this is a very important distinction in cases involving addiction. If a spouse used marital assets to fund their addiction, the judge may decide to grant more of the remaining marital assets to the sober spouse as compensation for the funds spent on alcohol / drugs. Similarly, the court may decide against awarding alimony, or reduce the amount of alimony awarded, to the spouse with an addiction if they believe the spouse will use that money to fund their addiction.

Divorce can be an unpleasant, complex situation – adding addiction into the equation makes it even harder. If you are thinking about divorce and either you or your spouse is affected by this disease, contact Troy Legal, one of South Florida’s preeminent family law firms. We will advise you of your rights and fight for a fair financial outcome for you and a safe outcome for your children.

Troy Legal, P.A. was founded in 2009 and serves clients throughout South Florida. Troy Legal, P.A., specializes in Marital and Family Law, providing reputable legal services for prenuptial and co-habitation agreements, paternity cases, adoption matters, alimony and child support, time sharing and parenting plans, drafting of qualified domestic relations orders (qdros), mediation services, equitable distributions, collaborative law, post-judgement modification and enforcement, domestic violence cases, and dissolution of marriage or divorce.  Troy Legal, P.A. is dedicated to serving clients through compassionate and aggressive representation, while upholding the highest degree of ethical standards.

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[1] The Cleveland Clinic. Addiction: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms, Types & Treatment. Accessed December 9, 2024.

[2] The Cleveland Clinic. Addiction: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms, Types & Treatment. Accessed December 9, 2024.

[3] University of Buffalo. Heavy drinking is bad for marriage if one spouse drinks, but not both – Research Institute on Addictions – University at Buffalo. Accessed December 9, 2024.