This is the next post in my discussion on Melbourne, Florida child custody cases which involve domestic violence between the parents. My last article discussed the need to immediately contact law enforcement after a domestic assault. In addition to ensuring one’s safety, immediately contacting the police helps to ensure that the Court will find one’s claims to be credible. You should contact a family law attorney shortly after contacting law enforcement and stabilizing the situation. In this article I will discuss another important topic – dealing with cases which involve false allegations. If you find yourself falsely accused then contact my office today to speak with a lawyer.
It is an unfortunate truth that false allegations of violence are sometimes raised by parents going through a child custody dispute. Parents making such allegations believe that doing so is a way to gain an advantage in the system. The fact of the matter, however, is that the Court may grant the accused custody of the child after it is shown that the allegations are fraudulent. This is due to the fact that Courts wish for a parent to foster a relationship between their counterpart and the child. It goes without saying that making false allegations, in an effort to gain custody, is not supportive of a parent-child relationship. If you have been falsely accused of violence then you ave grounds to change child custody in your favor.
There are many ways in which one can establish that claims of violence are false. If an accused person was charged with a crime and acquitted at trial, after a finding that the allegations were false, then establishing the truth in Family Court will be relatively straightforward. If there were no criminal proceedings then it is possible to establish conduct, on the part of the alleged victim, which is inconsistent of someone who has been assaulted. Such conduct may include not reporting the incident to law enforcement until custody proceedings started, text messages or emails which contradict the person’s story, as well as witness statements. An accused’s lawyer will be able to use the discovery process to collect such information.
One point I cannot stress enough is that a parent must take domestic violence allegations seriously even if they are false. The Court will take such matters very seriously and if one does not properly defend themselves then the Court may believe the victim. If you are involved in a custody dispute then contact my office to speak with a Melbourne family law attorney. My office also services clients in the Brevard County cities of Titusville, Cocoa, Palm Bay, Grant, Valkaria, and Rockledge, as well as in the Indian River County areas of Fellsmere, Sebastian, Vero Beach, Indian River Shores, and Orchid.