How Do Colorado Domestic Violence Claims Impact a Pending Divorce?

Divorce is challenging enough for families. But when your marriage is plagued by domestic violence, it can be even more difficult. If you’ve already reported domestic violence incidents to the police or your spouse has been formally charged, there is a real concern that your physical and emotional safety are at risk. And if you have had claims of domestic violence brought against you, you may be panicking— and you should be. Your reputation is on the line. 

Not only are you stuck dealing with child custody, support, spousal maintenance, and division of your marital property, when domestic abuse allegations arise in your divorce, it is important that you act quickly to protect yourself. You might not have ever expected your marriage to wind up in divorce, but this could be an excellent opportunity for you to rebuild your life.

Dedicated Colorado divorce lawyer Mitch Geller will help you get through your divorce and handle your domestic violence claim. 

Divorce in Colorado

Getting divorced in Colorado is often a long and difficult process, made that much more challenging by domestic violence claims. In a traditional divorce, how smoothly your divorce goes would depend on how easily you and your soon-to-be ex could work out the terms of your divorce settlement. But this isn’t a standard divorce. Your divorce lawyer will need to be prepared to go up against your spouse whether they’re your abuser or have made allegations of domestic abuse against you. 

Colorado is a no-fault divorce state, so the spouse filing for divorce need only claim that the marriage is irretrievably broken to proceed. Settling the details of your divorce is where things can become most challenging. Colorado requires married couples to distribute assets, debts, and property equitably in a divorce. But that does not necessarily mean your assets and debts will be divided 50/50. 

There is also the question of whether one spouse will be entitled to maintenance. Despite popular belief, maintenance is not a guarantee in any divorce. But disagreements over whether maintenance will be paid often stall divorce proceedings.

Working out your child custody agreement will also be a large part of your divorce settlement if you share children. It is here that domestic violence claims can have the greatest impact on not only your divorce but your family. 

How Do Domestic Violence Allegations Influence Child Custody Agreements?

Colorado family courts are required by law to make decisions that are in the best interests of a child. By this standard, the courts will generally be of the opinion that in the vast majority of situations, it is in the best interests of children to have at least some quality time with both of their parents. This means that even in divorces where domestic violence claims arise, they likely will not prevent either parent from having visitation or custody rights. 

Prior to domestic violence claims, it might have been possible for you and your spouse to work out legal and physical custody arrangements. These include all major decisions made about the children’s upbringing and where the children will primarily reside. But once these claims are made, the courts might have to step in and set up a parenting plan that limits the frequency and type of communication and contact between parents. 

In the event that criminal domestic violence charges have been filed, one parent has a history of domestic violence, or one parent is found to be abusive with their children, the courts may also step in and limit the parenting time of the abusive parent. This might include supervised visitation to ensure that the child is not harmed. 

Consequences of False Domestic Violence Claims

When claims of domestic violence are made against you in your divorce, you can expect to have to defend yourself in more ways than one. First, you may be facing criminal charges related to crimes involving domestic violence such as stalking, assault, sexual assault, and others. If convicted of these crimes, you could be facing severe penalties, including fines and jail time. 

But beyond criminal penalties, if you are found guilty of a crime involving domestic violence, it will surely have an impact on your child custody and divorce proceedings. You cannot risk losing your visitation or child custody rights to false allegations. It is critical that you clear your name of the charges against you so that you can move forward with your divorce settlement. 

What to Do About Domestic Violence Claims Made Against You

Sadly, it is not uncommon for people to make false allegations of domestic violence when a marriage dissolves. It is imperative that you defend yourself against any criminal charges involving domestic violence. To do so, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney who can aggressively defend you in court. 

While charges are pending, a few things might happen with your custody case since each case proceeds according to its own schedule. It is very common that the custody case concludes before the criminal case. In domestic court, the judge will be concerned about whether or not credible evidence of domestic violence exists. Since a conviction is only one example of credible evidence and since the court does not require a conviction to prove that violence did occur, the parent accused of domestic violence could lose significant custody rights or time. This is true even if the criminal court process ends in acquittal. Since criminal court and family court require different 

Contact a Divorce Lawyer in Colorado Today

Have you been accused of domestic violence during a pending family law case? If so, there is a lot at stake. Protect yourself. Get help from experienced Colorado divorce lawyer Mitch Geller. You can expect personalized attention to every detail of your divorce. Schedule your initial consultation when you fill out our quick contact form. Or call our office at (720) 696-7897 to get started today.