Q: What is the possibility of my abusive ex getting half custody?
I live in Kentucky and my ex husband is attempting to get half custody of my 18 month old.
In February, due to past physical violence and life-threatening text messages, I got an EPO on him. When we went to court for the EPO, the judge decided on a 3 year DVO and opened up a child abuse investigation on him (I told her how he had jerked her arm along with other things). I provided evidence of his past physical violence with a recording of him admitting to it, told her about other past incidences, and showed her the threatening texts. She gave me temporary custody and ordered him to take domestic violence classes. She did not put a DVO on him seeing her, however.
He recently filed for visitation and he wishes to go for half custody. When he filed, the judge said that until the trial or mediation, he could have supervised visitation at a facility. I am so afraid of him being able to have her unsupervised. Considering the info, what are the chances that he could get half custody?
A: In KY, initially the presumption of time between parents is now 50/50. However, that presumption can be rebutted with evidence such as you describe in your narrative above. So, assuming those evidence is substantial and can be proven, it is unlikely that he will get anything close to half.
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