When your spouse is abusing you, you may decide that divorce is the best option. You should never feel threatened to stay in a relationship and or coerced to stay in a relationship because your spouse makes empty promises to change. Instead, call a good family law attorney to see how he or she can help you with your divorce. Getting a divorce is not always as straightforward as it seems and in some cases, your abuse may not have much to do with your divorce at all. Call a divorce lawyer to set up your first consultation now.
How does abuse affect divorce?
No matter what, abuse will always have some effect on divorce whether it is explicitly through the legal means for getting a divorce or whether it is through the emotions involved in the divorce. For many who are empowered through the divorce process, they may be wondering why they stuck around for so long during this abuse and feelings of shame and guilt can creep up. For others, they may have that feeling of empowerment and wanting to take their life back, especially if they have children.
To see if abuse affects the legal portion of your divorce, though, you will need to know if you are filing for a fault or no-fault divorce.
What is a no-fault divorce?
Depending on which state you file in, you may be required to file for a no-fault divorce. This means that legally, a court does not care why you are getting a divorce, just that you want one. Thus, even if your spouse has been physically and emotionally abusive for decades, it will not necessarily have an impact on whether you can get a divorce and what you can get out of that divorce.
Abuse and Child Custody
On the other hand, as you are getting a divorce you may be filing for custody of your children. It is entirely possible that a judge will take into account the abuse you sustained (Especially if your children sustained abuse as well) when it comes to determining child custody. Your lawyer will know the best approach to take regarding the abuse and will need to gather evidence from you and potentially your children as well.
Get Protection You Need
A good attorney will be concerned about his or her clients when they come in for a divorce because their spouse abuses them. When this is the case, an attorney will want to ensure you are getting the protection you need. During the divorce process, things can get ugly quickly if you have an abusive spouse, so your lawyer can ask the court to grant you a Protection from Abuse order to keep your spouse away from you. In the event that they fail to comply with this PFA, they can go to jail.
Seek help from a family law attorney today if you are being abused and need help throughout the divorce process.
