Like other states, New Jersey courts take allegations of domestic violence seriously. The family courts of Burlington County are no exception.
When deciding custody and visitation, New Jersey judges have a lot of leeway to make an arrangement that the they believe is in the best interests of the children involved.
However, there are certain factors a court must consider when making these decisions.
These factors include any history of domestic violence, the ability to keep those involved in the case safe from physical abuse, the fitness of each parent and the ability of the parents to work together. Allegations of any type of abuse may fall under any or all these factors.
On the other hand, judges may also consider whether a parent has shown resistance to allowing the other parent to have a relationship with their children. Fabricating or exaggerating abuse allegations could fall under this category.
New Jersey does not have specific rules about what types of abuse can or cannot be considered. Abuse allegations may be dated, and they may not involve criminal charges or even so much as a police call or a restraining order.
On a practical level, though, a judge will look carefully at the circumstances and nature of an abuse allegation.
In the eyes of some judges, for example, there may be a difference between a 10-year-old call to the police which did not lead to criminal charges and a criminal conviction related to domestic violence within the previous 6 months.
A victim of domestic abuse must prepare to prove their case
As hard as it might be to re-live memories of prior abuse, a victim will have to prepare to present their case to a judge.
Especially the stakes are often high in custody cases involving domestic violence, the victim will want to start preparation as quickly as possible by fully understanding their legal options.
Likewise, those who feel they have been unfairly accused of domestic violence will want to prepare to defend themselves. It can be very difficult to overturn an unfavorable custody order even if it was based on bad or incomplete information.