As you enter your divorce proceedings, you may come to terms with the fact that you will have to eventually split custody and parenting time with your soon-to-be former spouse. However, your spouse may want sole access and involvement in your child’s life. This may be because they are driven by their need for power and control, their fear or anxiety of having their child out from under the watchful eye, their anger and revenge toward you once you initiate your split, or otherwise. In any event, they may make a desperate attempt to falsely accuse you of committing abuse or domestic violence to jeopardize your stance in your upcoming custody battle. Well, please follow along to find out what happens if your spouse makes false abuse allegations against you and how a proficient Bergen County child custody attorney at McNerney & McAuliffe can work to protect your rights.
What is the court’s procedure after an abuse allegation is made?
Without a doubt, the New Jersey family court will work in your child’s best interest throughout your custody battle. And so, they may err on the side of caution and take any claim of abuse or domestic violence quite seriously. If your soon-to-be former spouse accuses you of such, the court may be prompted to initiate the following procedures:
- The court may order a social worker, child protection agency, law enforcement, or forensic expert to investigate this claim.
- The court may order a guardian ad litem to conduct their own investigation and make recommendations based on the child’s welfare.
- The court may order a mental health professional to evaluate both parents, the child, and the relationships shared among all these parties.
- The court may order a temporary supervised visitation or a no-contact order for the accused parent until these investigations reach a final judgment.
- The court may order both parents and the child to attend counseling sessions with a therapist to attempt to resolve these underlying issues on their own accord.
How will false abuse allegations be dealt with in a custody battle?
As you can likely conclude for yourself, the New Jersey family court exhausts a lot of resources to get down to the bottom of an abuse or domestic violence claim. So if these investigations conclude that your soon-to-be former spouse’s allegations against you were falsified, this may not be good for them. Specifically, it may be considered that they intentionally lied to the court, leading to perjury charges. With this, they may face hefty fines and even a considerable jail sentence.
This is not to mention that their chances for custody rights may slip away. At the very least, the court may give them less parenting time on your schedule to compensate for the quality time you lost during these investigation proceedings. On top of this, they may be ordered to pay for your attorney and legal fees after unnecessarily prolonging the custody case process.
In the end, if you are ready to get the custody rights you deserve, please retain the services of a talented Bergen County family law attorney. Our team at McNerney & McAuliffe awaits your phone call.