Divorce in Domestic Violence Situations

Domestic violence can have a terribly deleterious impact on the entire family, especially the children. The number of young children who watch and are victims of a violent parent’s abuse who grow up to repeat the same kind of behaviors is astounding. Children learn how to behave by modeling their parent’s styles of behavior. Moreover, domestic violence usually does not suddenly stop or get better. Cycles of abuse often grow worse until the abuser is arrested and the victim leaves, or, in some cases, the abuser murders the victim. In other situations, the victim stays with the abuser, perpetuating a cycle of abuse that makes life miserable for decades, and both abuser and victim die in mutual hatred and misery. If now is the time for you to break that cycle of abuse, a family law attorney in Spokane can help to make that happen.

In most cases, it takes a dramatic crisis experience for victims to decide to leave their abuser once and for all. It is often not an easy decision since very few people are completely evil, and even abusive spouses often have pleasant qualities. That also adds to the difficulty, however, as any family law attorney in Spokane can attest. They have seen clients who decide to divorce only to be won over again by their partner’s genuinely winsome qualities, re-entering and repeating the stages of the cycle, only to regret it again later. Many victims have been with their partners for a number of years, even decades. The decision to divorce is not a light or automatic one for them to make. Other factors that make leaving a difficult decision are economic, especially when victims are financially dependent on the abusive spouse.

A family law center in Spokane can put you in touch with counselors and resources to help you work through all these kinds of issues should you decide to get out of a bad situation. There are a number of alternatives available, especially for women and their children, including shelters and the use of restraining orders to help protect them from abusers. If you are in a dire situation where you are afraid for your life, contacting the police immediately should be your first step. At the right time, you can contact a family law attorney in Spokane who will help guide you through the process of divorce when the time comes. If your situation seems less threatening at the moment, you may want to contact a lawyer first who can put you in touch with resources and help you to file for divorce before the situation becomes one that is significantly more difficult.