In Florida, the court system favors shared parental rights in child custody cases. However, a domestic violence arrest can affect a parent’s rights. The court takes domestic violence very seriously. According to family law, domestic violence plays a major part in custody decisions.
The Impact of a Domestic Violence Arrest on Custody
When a child witnesses domestic violence between parents, they are more likely to have violent tendencies. Furthermore, a child who experiences the violence is likely to develop physical and mental health issues. For this reason, the court does not want to place a child in a situation where they are at risk of seeing or experiencing domestic violence.
The court considers an individual who has a domestic violence arrest to be a risk to a child. Therefore, they might not want to issue shared parental responsibility. Instead, they could award sole parental responsibility to the other parent.
However, it is possible for a convicted parent to seek out some rights. They need to prove that they deserve shared responsibility. Additionally, they need to show that that outcome is in the best interest of the child.
There is no doubt that your conviction will come up in court. Before every custody case, each parent must disclose their legal history. If they have any domestic violence incidents, termination of parental rights, or other issues, they must tell the court.
What Are the Possible Outcomes?
There are several ways in which a conviction can affect the case. First, it can limit visitation. In addition to taking away custody rights, the court could limit how often you see your child. Most states, including Florida, believe that a domestic violence conviction is serious enough to impact visitation.
The court holds a hearing to decide whether or not the parent and child should remain in contact. During the hearing, the court considers the safety of the child. They want to ensure that the physical, emotional, and mental health of the child will not be harmed by the parent’s involvement.
If the judge does in fact believe the parent should receive some rights, they will allow visitation. It’s possible that the parent will receive full visitation rights. But it’s also possible that the court limits visitation. They will do what it takes to keep the child safe. In some cases, that means supervised visitation.
Supervised Visitation
According to divorce law in Miami, supervised visitation occurs when a professional supervisor watches all interactions between a child and the parent. There is no alone time for the abuser. In addition to paying child support, the abuser might also need to pay for the cost of supervised visitation.
Termination of Parental Rights
Although it is rare, another potential outcome is the termination of parental rights. This can occur when a judge decides that the best interest of the child is to completely end the parent and child relationship.
If someone has a domestic violence arrest, the termination of parental rights is a possibility. But it is not likely. The court typically reserves this extreme measure for violent career criminals, sexual predators, and murderers.
Child Support and Domestic Violence
In addition to affecting visitation, a domestic violence arrest has an impact on child support. Child support law in Miami often requires the parent that spends less time with the child to pay more child support. A child support lawyer can explain more about this.
Whether your partner has a domestic violence arrest or you are the one arrested, you could benefit from a child support attorney in Miami. They can explain how the arrest can affect child custody and child support.
