Have you ever touched your spouse’s arm so that you can stress your point or yelled during an especially heated argument? If you are like plenty of people, the answer is probably yes, and you most likely thought that what you did was fairly normal and not a huge deal.
However, if you are currently in the middle of a divorce case, your spouse could intentionally paint those seemingly normal actions in court in a manner that could lead to you being kicked out of your house. You could also be permanently or temporarily banned from visiting or spending quality time with your kids.
False Accusations of Domestic Violence
In some instances, domestic violence accusations are typically backed by evidence and facts, so family courts take them into consideration when deciding on child support and custody. But in the majority of instances, one party, typically the spouse who is feeling particularly vindictive or vengeful or who wants to obtain full custody of the kids, makes unsubstantiated and false domestic violence allegations to try and trick the justice system.
According to federal and state laws, domestic abuse does not just cover physical abuse, but also intimidation, harassment, and interfering with another person’s personal liberty. Even the simple act of touching or yelling at your spouse might be considered domestic abuse.
Put simply, you do not necessarily need to have engaged in a violent act for your spouse to claim domestic abuse. In most cases, a spouse who claims to feel unsafe or threatened would suffice.
Understanding an Order of Protection
Once a domestic violence or abuse allegation has been made against you, the court could issue an order of protection. Surprisingly, the standard for getting an order is unfortunately low, considering the potential long and short-term effects. In most instances, orders of protection contain no-contact clauses, which means that the court could order the accused spouse to leave the marital home and barred from having any form of contact with the kids and the spouse claiming domestic abuse.
In addition, a protection order could not only order an accused spouse to stay away from specific location or person, like the marital home, the school of the kids, or the workplace of the accusing spouse, but also prevent the accused spouse from disposing any personal or real property or even taking the kids outside the jurisdiction of the court. Used this way, an order of protection could be an extremely wrongful and harmful tool when utilized improperly.
Responding to False Claims
With help from your Denver family attorney, you should clear your name and put forth your best evidence and arguments to help secure the best results for you and your family.
The examples above clearly show why it is immensely crucial to effectively request to have a protection order vacated, dismissed, or modified as soon as possible to enable extensive visitation. This way, the accused could have a fair chance in a particularly contested divorce and child support and custody case.