Parents often want to do everything they can to protect their parental rights, but this can be a considerable challenge if they’re facing domestic violence charges. When a parent is facing those charges in Florida, the allegation is often an important factor in the child custody case.
Florida courts focus on the best interests of the children, which means that they will carefully consider any claims involving forms of violence, threats, intimidation or unsafe conduct. While a domestic violence charge isn’t handled the same way as a conviction, a pending case can have an influence on temporary parenting orders. In some cases, it may lead to an order for supervised parenting time.
How Florida courts view domestic violence
Florida law requires that courts consider a variety of factors when determining how to allocate parental responsibility and time sharing. Domestic violence charges could call the parent’s judgement, emotional stability and ability to provide a safe home into question. It may also lead to concerns about whether the parent is willing and able to encourage a healthy relationship between the child and the other parent.
While a charge can often have temporary effects, a conviction may have long-term effects. It can negatively impact custody, visitation, protective orders and a host of other factors. Even if the child isn’t the target of the violence, the court may consider that the child could be exposed to violence, which is harmful to the child.
Any parent who’s charged with domestic violence and is in the midst of a child custody case should seek legal assistance. These cases come with a variety of challenges, such as court orders and conditions that aren’t present in other cases. Having someone on their side who can help with each step of this case may help the parent to protect their parenting rights and time with their children through a strong defense in the criminal case.
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