How Domestic Violence Can Impact Your Divorce

Domestic violence impacts 10 million Americans every year; with up to one in four women and one in nine men directly affected by this scourge[1]. Many victims of domestic violence stay with their abuser because they fear the financial repercussions of leaving or that they could lose their child to their abuser.

Financial Impacts of Divorce

In Florida, marital assets are subject to equitable division when a couple divorces. Marital assets include all financial and physical assets acquired during the marriage. This means that each spouse is generally awarded about half of the marital assets. Domestic violence does not necessarily impact this division.

Either you or your spouse may be eligible for alimony when you divorce. Alimony is determined by your relative incomes, earning capacity, health, age, and duration of marriage. Similar to the distribution of marital assets, the payment or receipt of alimony is not necessarily impacted by domestic violence.

However, for both division of assets and alimony, while not required, the courts may consider the long term financial, psychological, and health impacts that you have suffered from the abuse and determine that an equitable division would give you more than half of the assets or a higher alimony payment.

Parenting Time

Florida laws aim to establish parenting time that is in the best interest of the child. The goal for most families is that the child lives with each parent approximately half the time. In 2023, the Florida legislature realized that this ideal may not be in the best interest of children coming from homes with domestic violence. To protect these children, the governor signed Greyson’s Law into effect. Greyson’s Law protects children by requiring the courts to consider the following factors when awarding timesharing to parents:

• History of domestic violence in the family, even if it was not directed specifically at the child.
• Whether a parent has reasonable cause to believe that they or their child is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic or sexual violence by the other parent, or if their child is in imminent danger of facing abandonment or neglect by the other parent, even if they have not previously or currently pressed charges for this

With the law on the victims’ side, you may be able to obtain full parenting and timesharing rights to your children. It’s important to know, though, that even if the courts award your spouse no timesharing or parenting rights, they still may be eligible for visitations with the child.

The specifics of your situation will determine how much timesharing you will each be awarded as well as how your assets will be divided. If you are a victim of domestic violence and are thinking about filing for divorce, contact Troy Legal right away. We will advise you of the steps to take to help protect yourself and your child legally and financially during this difficult time.

Troy Legal, P.A. was founded in 2009 and serves clients throughout South Florida. Troy Legal, P.A., specializes in Marital and Family Law, providing reputable legal services for prenuptial and co-habitation agreements, paternity cases, adoption matters, alimony and child support, time sharing and parenting plans, drafting of qualified domestic relations orders (qdros), mediation services, equitable distributions, collaborative law, post-judgement modification and enforcement, domestic violence cases, and dissolution of marriage or divorce.  Troy Legal, P.A. is dedicated to serving clients through compassionate and aggressive representation, while upholding the highest degree of ethical standards.

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[1] National Library of Medicine. Domestic Violence – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov). Accessed May 8, 2024.