Many people have the tendency to believe that when they have been accused of domestic violence by the other parent of their children, there is no hope to ever be able to gain custody. While accusations of domestic violence will always be taken very seriously by child custody courts and by law enforcement in general, a fair judgment will always be sought.
If you have been accused of domestic violence in the state of Arizona and want to be able to gain or maintain custody of your children, it is important that you take the time to understand how the law works. You should not lose hope of having visitation rights, since there are many ways to prove that you will not pose a threat to your children.
How do child custody courts make decisions regarding domestic violence accusations?
The child custody courts take many different things into account when deciding whether a parent should have custody of their child. First, they believe that a child has a right to have a relationship with both of their biological parents if it is in their best interests.
A parent does not need to attempt to prove that they “deserve” a relationship with their children, because the child custody courts are evaluating the situation from the perspective of the child.
If there has been an accusation of domestic violence, this will be taken very seriously. However, even if some form of domestic violence has taken place, the courts will consider whether this violence threatened the children in question, and whether they witnessed it.
After the situation is fully evaluated, the courts may find that even though domestic violence did take place, the children were never aware or at risk, and they still will continue to benefit from having a relationship with both of their biological parents.
The ruling that child custody courts make will, of course, depend largely on the validity of domestic violence claims and the severity of such accusations. It is important that you take action to understand the law in depth so that you have the best chance of proving to the courts that you should have visitation rights.