Actors Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have been making headlines lately, after the 30-year-old actress filed for divorce from 52-year-old Depp. Heard claims she suffered verbal and physical abuse during the marriage. She obtained a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Depp after filing for divorce.
How do these allegations of domestic violence affect their divorce case? What impact could this have on your family law matter?
Impact on Spousal Support
California is considered a no fault divorce state. This means you can file for divorce from your spouse without having to provide any specific reason. This means Heard does not stand to gain from accusing Depp of domestic violence. Or does she?
Domestic violence can affect many aspects of your divorce, including spousal support.
A victim of domestic violence may not be required to provide any spousal support to their spouse. Under Family Code Section 4325, if you were convicted of domestic violence five years before a divorce filing or any time after, a judge could order that no spousal support be awarded to you.1
This law attempts to prevent domestic violence victims from financing their own abuse, but it also leads to false accusations of domestic violence by those attempting to get an upper hand during divorce proceedings.
Dividing Assets
Domestic violence may also be a consideration when dividing up the marital estate and property. Based on a spouse’s behavior during the marriage, a judge could decide to give one spouse a larger share of their community property than the other.
Allegations or convictions involving domestic violence could also factor into child custody and visitation decisions. No judge will likely want to give custody to a parent who has a history of violence since it could place the child at risk. A conviction or accusation of domestic violence could affect your custody and visitation rights.
Domestic violence allegations or a history of domestic violence could greatly impact your divorce case. That is why some people may bring up domestic violence allegations in order to achieve a favorable outcome in their divorce case. Depp’s attorney claims that Heard’s allegations are false and says that she is just “trying to secure a premature financial resolution” by accusing Depp of domestic violence. This is why you need to hire an experienced family law attorney if you are going through a divorce.
Call the Divorce Attorneys at Wallin & Klarich Today
If you are going through a divorce, you need an experienced attorney to help you navigate this complex matter. At Wallin & Klarich, our skilled divorce lawyers have been successfully representing clients and their interests in divorce cases and family law matters for over 35 years. We’ve helped thousands of clients in their time of legal need, and we can help you now.
With offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Sherman Oaks, Torrance, Ventura, Victorville, and West Covina, you can find a dedicated Wallin & Klarich family law attorney available near you no matter where you work or live.
Call us at (888) 749-7428 for a free phone consultation. We will get through this together.
1. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=fam&group=04001-05000&file=4320-4326 href=”#ref1″>↩