[mom2trips+1]

My husband and I are considering divorce. He has felt more like my caretaker than my husband for many years and although we do not fight, we are very distant and haven't had a sexual relationship for many years.

He has said he will fight for full custody of our children and "Will win because of my mental illness." He himself is an alcoholic and has cirrhosis of the liver. So, he has his own issues. I think he wants full custody so he won't have to pay child support.

Anyone have any insight into custody during divorce with bipolar disorder?

I will mention that I have never hurt my children ( don't even spank) or endangered them in any way. My kids are 12 ( triplets). I also have another one but she is in college.

Let me know what you guys think!

Thank you.

[gayleggg]

As long as you are effectively being treated, I don't see why you couldn't win custody. Especially, if you can prove he is an alcoholic. Good luck.

[jpb4815]

I agree with Gaylegg, if you are being treated for your illness and have proven to be stable I doubt a judge would take kids away from their mom. It would take some very gross negligence in my state to loose custody of your children.

[Moose72]

Yes what judge would put kids with an alcoholic parent??

[newtothis31]

Hugs! I got divorced a year after I get diagnosed with BiPolar I. We ended up being 60/40 custody (I had the 60%) before my ex-husband moved out of state.
In my experience, I had to show the court that I was competent to be a parent and my psychiatrist was willing to provide medical testimony regarding my mental state. I had a very good lawyer who was able squash my ex-husband from bringing it up to the judge.
Without knowing what state you live in, it's tough to say if there is anything that would cause either one of you to lose custody.
In the state of Missouri, a guardian ad litem (GAL) would be appointed by the court to represent your children if there was a significant custody dispute regarding the kids (e.g., one parent wants to have full custody and the other parent disagrees). The GAL would do an interview (sometimes more than one) with your kids at school to get more insight into their life, and they would have separate interviews with the parents.
Facebook has a lot of great divorced parent support groups: Divorced Parents Unleashed and Divorce 101. There are a lot of other parents who can guide you through the steps you need to take in the early stages of divorce.
I hope this helps- I don't want to overwhelm you with information but let me know if you have any questions.
I am two years post divorce and I feel very relieved that it happened. Originally, I did not want the divorce at all. I am 100% confident that I have done a better job handling my Bipolar symptoms as a single mom vs being locked in an unhappy marriage.

Originally Posted by newtothis31

Hugs! I got divorced a year after I get diagnosed with BiPolar I. We ended up being 60/40 custody (I had the 60%) before my ex-husband moved out of state.
In my experience, I had to show the court that I was competent to be a parent and my psychiatrist was willing to provide medical testimony regarding my mental state. I had a very good lawyer who was able squash my ex-husband from bringing it up to the judge.
Without knowing what state you live in, it's tough to say if there is anything that would cause either one of you to lose custody.
In the state of Missouri, a guardian ad litem (GAL) would be appointed by the court to represent your children if there was a significant custody dispute regarding the kids (e.g., one parent wants to have full custody and the other parent disagrees). The GAL would do an interview (sometimes more than one) with your kids at school to get more insight into their life, and they would have separate interviews with the parents.
Facebook has a lot of great divorced parent support groups: Divorced Parents Unleashed and Divorce 101. There are a lot of other parents who can guide you through the steps you need to take in the early stages of divorce.
I hope this helps- I don't want to overwhelm you with information but let me know if you have any questions.
I am two years post divorce and I feel very relieved that it happened. Originally, I did not want the divorce at all. I am 100% confident that I have done a better job handling my Bipolar symptoms as a single mom vs being locked in an unhappy marriage.

What a great reply! Lots of good information in this post and joining some support groups sounds like an excellent idea. I'm glad everything worked out in your situation and hope the OP has similar results and experiences.

My heart goes out to you OP (original poster). Stay strong. (((Hugs)))