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Legal Information: Oregon

Custody

Updated: 
July 9, 2021

Can a parent who has committed violence get custody?

The judge will evaluate many factors when determining custody.1 If one parent has committed violence, however, there is a “rebuttable presumption” against that parent getting custody. In other words, the judge will assume that it is not in the best interest of the child to grant that parent joint or sole custody but the abusive parent can present evidence to try to change the judge’s mind.2 The law does not have a similar presumption when it comes to an abusive parent getting visitation. For advice on how a judge will consider violence when deciding visitation, you may want to talk to a lawyer. Go to our Oregon Finding a Lawyer page for legal referrals.

1 ORS § 107.137(1)(d)
2 ORS § 107.137(2)

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