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Legal Information: Arkansas

Custody

Laws current as of November 6, 2024

Can a parent who committed domestic violence get custody or visitation?

If you can prove that the other parent has committed an act of domestic violence against you or against a family or household member of either of you, the judge must consider the effect of such domestic violence upon the best interests of the child. This is true even if the child was not physically injured or did not personally witness the abuse.1 If you can prove a pattern of domestic violence, the judge will assume (presume) that it is not in the best interest of the child to be placed in the custody of an abusive parent but the abusive parent can offer evidence to try to change the judge’s mind (known as a “rebuttable presumption”).2

1 Ark. Code § 9-13-101(c)(1)
2 Ark. Code § 9-13-101(c)(2)

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