Sharon Stone’s Experience Has Parents Wondering If Jobs Can Affect Custody

According to CBS News, actress Sharon Stone stated on a recent podcast that she lost custody of her son in 2004. However, many people are blown away by the reason, which was partially because of a brief, one-second scene in a movie. This made headlines across the country, and many parents began wondering if it is true that jobs can affect the outcome of child custody cases.

Why did Sharon Stone lose her child during a custody battle?

Sharon Stone is known for her roles in over 60 different movies, but only one of them upended her life in a devastating way. The psychological thriller movie “Basic Instinct” was released in 1992. In the podcast, Stone says she was tricked into appearing naked in the film. In fact, she explained that the director told her that her undergarments were reflecting light on camera, causing issues with filming. Therefore, he urged her to remove them but promised that the lower portion of her body would not be revealed on camera. However, the one-second police interrogation scene where she uncrosses her legs was never cut from the movie, which led to the entire world seeing her genitals.

While the movie has good ratings, it changed Stone’s life forever. At the time of her custody hearing, 12 years had passed since her appearance in the film, but the judge did not seem to forget the movie and did not hold back on their feelings about it. As a matter of fact, at one point during the child custody hearing, the judge even asked the four-year-old boy, “Do you know your mother makes sex movies?” This was very humiliating for Stone, who was only given visitation because the judge declared her an unfit parent that would put her son in a harmful situation because of her movie.

Is it true that you can lose custody of your child in Bethesda because of your job?

Not necessarily. When deciding which parent the child should reside with, the judge could consider a parent’s job as one of the factors for child custody. For example, say you co-parent is an ER surgeon who works the overnight shift once a week. In such a case, it makes sense for the children’s schedule to reflect this – for them to remain with the non-surgeon parent on those nights – to ensure an adult is always home.

Or, perhaps you work from a home-based office in the fields of psychology or psychiatry. It may be easier if your child’s days with your co-parent reflect the days you practice from home, to ensure that your children receive the attention and care they need, and that your clients can feel comfortable knowing that the kids won’t “wander” into that part of the home during sessions.

If you have a career that requires extensive travel or overnight work, or sees you working for a few straight months in a row before you have time off again (like a professional athlete or actor would), the way your custody plan is created should reflect that reality. Your ex-spouse may have an excellent argument for modification – but these are not good reasons why you should lose custody altogether.

You also cannot lose custody of your child if:

• You lose your job. Child support and child custody are two separate issues in Maryland’s family court system, and losing a job should not be a factor in your custody at all.
• You relocate. Again, your custody order will need to be modified, but you cannot be denied your right to parenting time just because you moved.

When can a parent lose custody of a child in Maryland?

There is a not an exclusive list of ways to lose custody of your child.  But here are some examples:  A parent could lose custody of their children for the abuse or neglect of those children. Parents can also lose custody if they have issues with substance abuse that affects their ability to parent or to keep their children safe. In some cases, a parent can lose custody for interfering with the custody order and denying the co-parent his/her/their parenting time. Finally, a parent can lose custody if convicted of a crime that leads to incarceration.

If you have questions or concerns related to your job and child custody, please do not hesitate to reach out to a Bethesda family law attorney at McCabe Russell at your earliest convenience. Our team not only takes these cases extremely seriously, but we also have the knowledge and experience on how to handle these types of cases. We will never leave you in the dark about any information regarding your case as we are 100 percent committed to our clients.

That said, if you would like to schedule a free consultation to begin going over the details of child custody, fill out our contact form. Our lawyers are happy to help you learn more about these cases and explain the options you may have based on your circumstances. We look forward to meeting with you soon at our office locations in Fulton, Bethesda, Rockville, or Columbia.