Protecting your rights: drug testing in custody

Hi, I’m Clint Hastings. I’m a Tulsa divorce attorney here in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I focus on fathers’ rights. Here’s part two of our series on what to do if your wife is impaired by drugs or alcohol during a custody or divorce case.

In the first video, we talked about how your legal options depend on where you are in the process. For this video, let’s assume you’ve already filed for divorce and you’re waiting on either a temporary or final order from the court.

Requesting Drug or Alcohol Testing

At this stage, you have a couple of options to request drug or alcohol testing. One is by filing a motion asking the court to order testing. Another method is through statutory discovery — you can send a notice requiring her to test within five days, and you’ll likely need to prepay the lab, even if the judge orders the test.

Common testing options include urinalysis (UA), hair follicle test, nail bed test, and ETG alcohol hair test. Each test has its own window of detection and can provide valuable information for your case.

Next Steps and Evidence Collection

Keep in mind that someone might come back as a social drinker on the ETG test but still engage in dangerous binge drinking around the kids or while driving. That’s where other types of evidence come into play — and we’ll dive deeper into that in part three of this series.

If you’re dealing with a situation like this, don’t guess your way through it. Again, my name is Tulsa dad’s attorney Clint Hasting. Reach out — we’re here to help.

Low-Cost Consultation Available

If you need guidance on handling a custody or divorce case involving substance abuse, contact us for a low-cost consultation at 918-962-0900.