Michigan Domestic Violence and Divorce Attorney – How Can Domestic Violence Relate To Divorce Cases In Michigan?

A lot of divorce cases handled by Tafelski’s office have started where the client was either accused of domestic violence or is the victim of domestic violence. When that happens, it adds an entirely new aspect to the case because often, there is a no contact order that’s in place from the criminal case, which means the people can’t talk to each other at all, not even through third parties, even if they have kids. In this case, the person who is accused is often banned from going back to the marital home, so it puts that person at a disadvantage. Not only that, but it puts the overall communication process at a big disadvantage for people as well, and so those cases start off more complicated.

Sometimes when there is a history of domestic abuse or physical violence, there can be a civil tort claim included in the divorce action suing the other spouse, let’s say the bad spouse, for assault and battery and tort injuries, and in essence, it alters how the divorce settlement would normally occur because you have to fight through this issue of tort law or physical violence where you’re seeking financial recovery for the injuries that you may have suffered during the course of the marriage. So, domestic violence, right before or in conjunction with the divorce action, can often complicate those cases. The law office of Paul Tafelski does have experience in dealing with the particular complexities that are caused from both sides of the issue where clients have been the victims and the alleged perpetrator.

So, in most cases, you don’t want to waste time getting legal advice if domestic violence is involved when there is going to be a divorce because it can play into the issue of custody as well. It’s very important that you get good legal counsel in those situations.

What Kind Of Steps Can An Attorney Take If Their Client Is Being Falsely Accused Of Abuse?

Like many parts of a divorce case, the truth often lies only between the two people. In other words, it’s a class kind of he-said she-said sort of battle. Oftentimes, attorneys sit down with the client and discuss all the specific allegations and try to figure out circumstantial ways to prove that some of the things that are being said are not true. You’ll be surprised how often you can do that if you really stop and think.

For example, if clients think that they’ve been through this many times and they know how to poke around on the edges and piece things together and reverse engineer the situations to find inconsistencies in statements, to find things that can be proven false to use phone records or text messages, all that should be compiled and discussed with the attorney.

Can You Give One Example Of Such A Situation Which You Have Resolved For A Client?

In a recent case at Tafelski law firm, one party was accusing the client of stalking. The attorneys found out when the police report was filed and were able to put together a number of text messages sent by the accuser to the client in the days following the police report. That helped to convince the prosecutor not to issue a warrant for stalking because they realized that you can’t be stalked if you initiate contact with the person you’re calling a stalker.

So, little things like these that you can piece together to prove or cast doubt on the allegations can be helpful. Although these are difficult things to fight when it really gets massive because people will come up with lies that are hard to prove wrong but a lot of times, there will be things that your attorney can find to help shed light on the truth.

If you have questions regarding How Domestic Violence And Abuse May Affect Divorce in Michigan, call the law office of Attorney Paul Tafelski for a free initial consultation at (248) 456-8243 and get the information and legal answers you’re seeking.