Domestic violence may impact child custody cases

On Behalf of | Jun 20, 2018 | Child Custody |

There are many things that can impact a child custody case. One of these is the presence of domestic violence accusations in the case. When this is the case, there are many different things that might happen. In some situations, the parent who is facing the accusations will only have supervised visits with the children. This can be difficult, but the court must consider the best interests of the children.

One important distinction that has to be made in these cases is whether the child is a witness or a victim of the domestic violence. If the child was a victim, there is an increased chance that the child will only be allowed supervised visits or won’t have visits at all with the parent. If the child is a witness, this is still possible but the court might decide that the children are in harm’s way.

Even if the child is only a witness to the abuse, it can still affect him or her considerably. There is often a distrust and an uncertainty that comes with having to see these events. In some cases, it will increase the child’s likelihood of becoming violent or following a similar path later in life. All children who have been affected in any way by domestic violence might need professional mental health help.

The court will take other factors of the situation into account. One of these is whether there are criminal charges pending or not. The same is true of physical evidence like photographs or police reports. If you are being accused of domestic violence, you should be prepared for a battle in family court and possibly criminal court.

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