Proving Child Endangerment or Abuse During Divorce

 Posted on July 08, 2024 in Family Law

Protecting the children is a parent’s number one priority during a divorce or child custody case. If your spouse has abused, neglected, or endangered your children, ensuring that he or she will never be in a position where this could happen again is the most important issue in your case. However, you can expect your spouse to fight back when you demand sole custody or supervised visitation only based on the best interests of your child. Almost no parent will voluntarily give up seeing their children unsupervised. If you need to protect your children from a dangerous parent, you should prepare to contest the child custody issue in your divorce. You will need an experienced Northville, MI child custody lawyer to help you gather evidence.

Gathering Evidence of Abuse, Neglect, or Endangerment 

To prevent your spouse from gaining unsupervised access to your children, you will need to show the court that your spouse has a history of abusing, neglecting, or endangering your children. Types of evidence your lawyer may help you gather include: 

• Evidence of your spouse’s substance abuse or mental illness - A parent who is intoxicated most of the time or has a severe and unmanaged mental illness is not capable of providing appropriate care and supervision. Young children may be in danger if their parent is too intoxicated to perform basic tasks like feeding them or meeting them at the bus stop after school.
• Witness testimony - Your friends, family members, or neighbors have likely noticed if your spouse routinely fails to meet his or her parental responsibilities. Neighbors may have observed your young children playing outside alone or wandering the neighborhood unsupervised while your spouse is alone with them. Family friends may have noticed bruises on the children. 
• Police or CPS reports - If the police or CPS has ever become involved, their reports can be helpful in proving that the other parent is not a suitable person to care for the kids. 
• Reports from school staff - Teachers and school administrators are trained to spot signs of child abuse or neglect. Your child may also have spoken to a school guidance counselor or social worker about what is happening at home. 
• Proof of injuries - If your spouse has injured your children, or if your children have gotten hurt because your spouse put them in a dangerous position or failed to adequately supervise them, pictures of the injuries or medical reports can be very helpful. 

Contact a Northville, MI Child Custody Lawyer 

Elkouri Heath, PLC understands the emotional impact of contested child custody cases where one parent is fighting to protect the children from further abuse or neglect. Our dedicated Oakland County, MI child custody attorney will do all we can to help you protect your child. Contact us at 248-344-9700 for a complimentary consultation.