Going through a divorce is a challenging process, but when domestic violence allegations are involved, it becomes even more complicated. Whether you are the victim seeking protection or the accused trying to defend yourself, it’s important to understand how domestic violence cases impact divorce proceedings, child custody, and visitation rights.

In this video, Sina Mohajer, a family law attorney at Mohajer Law Firm, breaks down what you need to do if domestic violence is a factor in your divorce case. We’ll cover what qualifies as domestic violence in California, how to file for a temporary restraining order, and what to do if you are wrongfully accused of domestic abuse during a divorce.

If you are facing domestic violence allegations and want to protect your custody rights, contact Mohajer Law Firm for legal guidance.

At Mohajer Law Firm, we specialize in family law, domestic violence defense, and divorce cases. Whether you are seeking legal protection as a victim or need to defend yourself against false accusations, our team is here to help.

Transcript:

If you’re involved in a divorce case where there are allegations of domestic violence, in this video we’re going to tackle just that and address the issues in defending or even prosecuting that case. Hi, I’m Sina Mohajer with Mohajer Law Firm. We specialize in family law, civil litigation, criminal defense and personal injury.

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In these videos, or these mini series, I like to tackle complex issues and try to simplify it for our viewers and really give you the knowledge and know-how, or even the ability to handle your own case more efficiently. So without further ado, I welcome you all to A Walk in the Park.

What Is Domestic Violence in California

So what is domestic violence in California? Well, domestic violence does not only include physical violence or physical abuse, it also encompasses emotional as well as financial abuse too. So if you find yourself as a victim, or you’re being accused of such, that falls within the domestic violence law in California.

What Should You Do If You’re a Victim of Domestic Violence?

Now, what to do if you are the victim in a domestic violence case? Well, you are given what’s called an emergency power to file court pleadings in order to get an emergency temporary restraining order.

That emergency temporary restraining order is going to give you that level of protection that the court might feel that is necessary until the matter can be scheduled for a regular court hearing and hear the other side or their defense.

So it’s important during this stage to gather your evidence, whether it’s text communication, video surveillance, or what have you, if there’s pictures of your injuries—to be able to really push forward with the court to show the urgency and necessity of getting that temporary restraining order.

What If You’re Accused of Domestic Violence?

Now, what happens if you’re the one who is being accused of the domestic violence?

Well, it’s very important that you do the same thing. It’s important to look at text messages, photographs, surveillance. It’s important that you speak to an attorney and get your story across, so that we can properly and efficiently defend you if there’s any type of bogus allegations being made against you.

Custody, Visitation, and Best Interest of the Children

Because when there’s domestic violence in a divorce case, it can have huge implications. One is, the children’s well-being. The court really only looks at what’s in the best interest of the kids. They don’t care about anything else when it comes to custody visitation, because without those kids being in a proper safe environment or their well-being looked after, then 50/50 custody is not going to work.

So if there’s domestic violence and the court finds a finding of domestic violence, then chances are the court’s going to issue the victim sole legal custody, as well as physical custody and order some type of visitation for the accused. And that can include monitored visits. It can include anger management classes, parenting classes, alcohol program, depending on what the allegations are.

In fact, before recording this video, I had a hearing this morning where there were accusations of domestic violence. And although there were recommendations for the father to just jump right into normal visitations, I was able to express to the court the importance of the children’s well-being and to safeguard their interest. And in that particular case, the court did order monitored visits, at least temporarily, until we can come back and see how that’s working out with the kids.

Gather Evidence for Your Domestic Violence Case

Lastly, I cannot emphasize this enough, whether you’re the accused or you’re the victim, is to gather your evidence. When there’s domestic violence, we have to jump at the opportunity immediately in order to safeguard the victim, or in order to defend against the accused. And without evidence, you don’t have a case.

So it’s important to look at your text messages, emails, there’s video surveillance, photographs of injuries or anything of that nature. Talk to your attorney to make sure that they are fully informed of your side of the story in order to effectively do what needs to be done to protect you and the kids.

Contact a Domestic Violence Divorce Lawyer Today

If you have questions about your divorce case, which I’m sure there’s going to be, feel free to reach out to our office, schedule a consultation. Or, if you like, go ahead and hit that comment section and let us know some of your questions and we can always get back to you.

And also, don’t forget to hit that like button. Definitely subscribe, so you’re always notified. And I welcome you all to our new mini series, A Walk in the Park.