Helping Your College-Aged Child Navigate Criminal Charges

If your child has been charged with a crime, this can be an emotional and stressful time for your family and your child. As a parent, it is important to remember that your child might need your support now more than ever. While your child might technically be an adult, they most likely aren’t going to be equipped emotionally or financially to navigate the waters of pending possible criminal charges. Here are four areas your child will your support when it comes to dealing with a pending criminal case.

1. YOUR CHILD WILL NEED AN ATTORNEY

While you might want your child to learn a lesson and deal with the fallout from criminal charges on their own, this can negatively affect the rest of your child’s life depending on the severity of the crime and details surrounding their case. If you can step in and help your child source an attorney right away, you can significantly help your child’s chances for a fair trial, reduce possible convictions, and maybe even having their case thrown out. Going through a criminal trial on your child’s own or with a court-appointed attorney might cause charges might lead to more negative consequences than you or your child realize.

2. YOUR CHILD WILL NEED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

There are plenty of financial burdens that can come with being charged with a crime and the aftermath dealing with law enforcement, the courts, paperwork involved, and fines. It is important to realize that even though your child has gotten themselves into trouble, the mounting expenses that are a part of being a charged with a crime could be overwhelming for a young adult with little to no income. Step in any way you can. You can set up a payment plan with your child for the future, and just remember that you are protecting your child and their future by stepping up financially in their time of need.

3. YOUR CHILD WILL NEED YOUR CLEAR HEAD

If your child is in college or has their first full time job, they might need a little help with keeping their life together while working through pending criminal charges. This might involve taking a semester off of school, having you contact their employer, or keeping up on bills and other responsibilities they might let fall through the cracks. Your child will most likely be stressed out and overwhelmed, and won’t know where to start to keep their life in order. Anything that you can do to help keep your child’s day-to-day life easier with logistics, the easier it will be for them to assimilate back into a routine when their case is over.

4. YOUR CHILD WILL NEED HELP UNDERSTANDING THE SEVERITY OF THEIR CASE

Your child might be an adult, but they might not have the wherewithal to understand the gravity of the situation they have found themselves in. If your child confides in you that they are in trouble, be sure to take this seriously and understand they might be ignorant to the severity of criminal charges and how the situation could negatively affect their life. Reach out to them with information for counselors and attorneys so they have other adults to discuss possible ramifications with. If your child can deal with their criminal charges head on and take this seriously, they will come off in a better light in the courts and will be more equipped to navigate the process smoothly.

Sometimes being charged with a crime is a lesson in itself for your child. Don’t ruin their chances for a successful future because you think they should learn the hard way. Anything that you can do to lessen your child’s chances of conviction will help your child can get back to their new adult life and have a better chance of becoming a productive member of society for years to come. If you are in the St Paul area and are in need of an attorney, contact us to help you quickly get started and navigate your case.