Domestic Violence Support

Financial Support in Domestic Violence Cases

You may not be aware of how domestic abuse charges can impact your custody rights and financial responsibility.  California’s divorce laws favor joint custody to make sure there is adequate contact between children and parents.  However, this can change if there are charges or claims of domestic violence.

How Charges of Domestic Violence Impacts Custody and Child Support

Family courts tend to favor the parent who is the victim of domestic violence.  That parent is likely to be awarded full legal as well as physical custody of children.  Unfortunately, claims of domestic violence do not have to be substantiated.  This means that one parent can claim the other parent is abusive in order to win a custody dispute.  The burden of proof is minimal.  The “victim” does not have to actually prove the abuse happened.  Rather, the court simply has to believe that the chances that it occurred are higher than the chances it did not.  This allows for major manipulation during divorce proceedings.

There are financial ramifications resulting from abuse charges.  Many people do not realize that domestic violence allegations and charges impact spousal support.  Victims of domestic violence can get more in child support.  Conversely, the court can decide to stop all forms of spousal support to an individual charged the domestic violence.

From a legal standpoint, domestic violence includes more than striking another person.  In addition to actual violence, it can include threats and intimidating behavior as well as control over the other person.  Any of these actions can be used to request a restraining order in California.

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