Raising kids in two different homes, whether you and the other parent are divorced or were never married, can be challenging. In addition to requiring utmost cooperation, mistakes can make it difficult to do so successfully, and one of them is domestic violence.
The court makes decisions that are in the child’s best interest. Thus, an accusation of domestic violence can encourage them to change your custody orders. This includes situations where you are accused of domestic violence against your former partner, your child or even someone with whom you live now.
Here is how a domestic violence charge can affect your parental rights:
You could suffer the temporary loss of primary custody
If you are the custodial parent and are accused of domestic violence, the court may temporarily move the kids to the other parent’s care while the investigations continue.
You will likely be subjected to supervised visitation
If the other parent or another person accuses you of domestic violence, the court may subject you to supervised visitation. This means you may only spend time with your kids in the presence of another adult — usually a social worker or another designated neutral party. With this structure, it may be impossible for your kids to come to your home. You may even be required to interact with them only in a controlled setting, where you are observed and your interactions are documented.
Further, in addition to your visits being supervised, they may be limited. For instance, instead of having the whole weekend with your kids, your time may be reduced to a couple of hours until your case ends.
If convicted, these changes could become permanent
Being convicted may worsen your case as the changes discussed above may be permanent. You may permanently lose your custodial rights or be under supervised visitation.
If you are a co-parent charged with domestic violence, you need to fight back if you want to preserve your custody and visitation rights. The wisest thing you can do is to get legal guidance.
