Recent case highlights the fact that agreements to pay support to an abuser can be overridden at any time.
Are you currently paying support to a spouse who has been convicted of domestic violence? Following a change to the Family Code in 2002, the court is now permitted to consider domestic violence convictions as grounds for reduction or elimination of spousal support. You might consider contacting an attorney about the possibility of modifying your support agreements on this grounds. As one recent case shows, modifications are possible even if the spousal support agreement and the incidents of domestic violence predate the 2002 law change.
The case involved the marriage of Anand and Mary Kelkar. In 2000, Anand alleged that Mary had stabbed a water bed with a knife while he was resting in it. Mary pled no contest to a charge of unlawfully use of a deadly weapon in a quarrel. In 2002, Anand filed for divorce, alleging that Mary had physically and verbally abused him during their marriage. In 2004 the former spouses entered into an agreement requiring Anand to pay alimony to Mary.
Apparently Mary found it difficult to adjust to life as a divorcee, and in 2007 and in 2009 restraining orders were issued against her on Anand’s behalf. She violated both of these restraining orders. In 2011, Mary served Anand with an order to show cause seeking an increase in spousal support. At this point, Anand finally seemed to say enough is enough and petitioned for termination of support based on Family Code 4325 (the section updated in 2002 to allow courts to deny support to domestic violence abusers).
The court found that Family Code 4325 was indeed retroactive and could apply to Mary’s pre-2002 domestic violence conviction. The appeals court upheld this decision, finding that a retroactive application of the law reversing a vested right without due process was acceptable because in line with the state’s public policy interest in helping domestic violence victims to escape their abusers’ “web of violence.”
Besides the application to spousal support, this case is interesting for another reason. It serves as a reminder that the traditional stereotypes of a male domestic violence abuser and a female victim are not always right. Anyone who experiences physical, verbal, or emotional abuse at the hands of an intimate partner can seek protection with a domestic violence restraining order and should not fear to do so.
