No one in California should stay with an abusive partner. What may seem like “minor” abuse can quickly spiral into more severe forms of domestic violence, possibly even resulting in severe injury or death of the spouse and/or any children in the household. The following discusses everything residents of the Golden State need to know about divorcing an abusive partner.
How domestic abuse affects financial distribution in a divorce
Working out the financial settlements in divorces can be one of the trickiest aspects of navigating the process from a legal perspective. Accordingly, it’s difficult to guess exactly how the marital assets will be divided. However, partners who can prove domestic abuse occurred, especially when it resulted in financial losses, may receive a greater share of the assets, or even alimony, based on those criteria.
How marital abuse affects child custody
If children are involved in the marriage, the judge may take any history of domestic violence into account when deciding on custody. For example, if a spouse has demonstrated domestic violence before, especially if it is a pattern or particularly severe, the court may restrict the abusive spouse’s visitation or custody rights accordingly.
Domestic abuse is more than just physical
Many people think of domestic abuse as just hitting, choking or other physical attacks. However, while such assaults are definitely domestic abuse, the definition of what actually qualifies as domestic abuse in California is much wider.
Domestic violence can include sexual, emotional, financial or digital abuse and stalking. Victims of these behaviors should always vocalize their experiences to protect themselves and their children from future abuse and win what they are entitled to legally.
If you’ve been a victim of domestic violence within marriage and are currently going through a divorce, it’s critical that you understand the important considerations that were discussed above.