The Forward last week reported on a February 7 decision by a California trial court which interpreted 2020 amendments to the state's Family Code (Senate Bill 1141) as allowing a family court to use a husband's refusal to give his wife a Jewish bill of divorce (a "get") as the basis for awarding the wife child custody. Senate Bill 1141 adds "coercive control", defined as "a pattern of behavior that in purpose or effect unreasonably interferes with a person’s free will and personal liberty," as the basis for ex parte orders. That, in turn, creates a rebuttable presumption that awarding child custody to the person exerting coercive control is not in the best interests of the child. The court ruled that denial of a get amounted to coercive control. The full text of the court's decision does not appear to be available online.
