where do I start?

[vetdad]

I'm new here.  Dealing with a divorce from a woman who has made false allegations of domestic violence and abuse against my son, who is 16 months old.  She is trying to keep me from seeing him, and is refusing to cooperate in any regard.  Her attorney is as ridiculous as she is.  I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but I am backed into a corner and don't have the financial resources to fight all of her lies and accusations in court.  Anybody been here?  Any advice?

[tigger]

To give accurate advice, people are going to need to know some basic information like your state and what you want in regards to custody and distribution. 

A good place to start though is to click on "articles" (in the bar above that says:

home (//http:///) | articles (//http:///custody/articles.php) | guide (//http:///guide/) | chat (//http:///bchat/) | links (//http:///custody/links.php) | search (//http:///custody/search.php) | attorneys (//http:///custody/attysearch.php) | faqs (//http:///faq/) | dictionary (//http:///custody/dictionary.php)
)

and then search for whatever topics in which you're interested. 

[Gestalt]

Do you have an attorney?

Remember, if mom is claiming abuse, the burden is on her to prove the abuse...but that means you need to know how to demand she prove that. If you do not have an attorney and cannot get one, I seriously recommend you study (really study) your state and local rules of civil procedure, the rules of evidence, go sit in and watch some family court cases, discovery and its rules and case law.

[gemini3]

Remember, if mom is claiming abuse, the burden is on her to prove the abuse...but that means you need to know how to demand she prove that.

Oh how I wish this was true.  In family court, she doesn't have to do anything but make the claim.  In our case, my husband was accused of a laundry list of things - from sexual abuse to threatening to kill her and her boyfriend.  She had to provide NO evidence.

Do you have a custody/visitation order in place?  If so, what does it say regarding visitation, and is she following it?  If not, you have grounds to file for contempt of court.

Do not take the false accusations lying down.  They are a common tactic, and the effects on you could be devastating.  There are a lot of resources on this website to help you with that.

Has she reported you to CPS, or is she just accusing you in person?

If you can share more details we might be able to give more advice.

[Gestalt]

Remember, if mom is claiming abuse, the burden is on her to prove the abuse...but that means you need to know how to demand she prove that.

Oh how I wish this was true.  In family court, she doesn't have to do anything but make the claim.  In our case, my husband was accused of a laundry list of things - from sexual abuse to threatening to kill her and her boyfriend.  She had to provide NO evidence.

My point was there are ways to keep reminding the court that these are just allegations, and to back the other side into a corner during testimony that will undermine their claims. One cannot not address the claims though.