Question: I want to divorce my wife. She continually accuses me of chasing women and constantly forces me to leave work early to take care of our 9-month-old daughter because she claims she’s “sick.” I think she just wants me to be at home to always monitor me. She is unemployed and can’t handle taking care of our daughter any extended period of time. She won't agree to a separation, and if I cannot take the pain and grief anymore, I may have to leave.
Once, years ago, I did hit my wife in the back, and I fear that she will file for a restraining order to keep me from our daughter if I leave, and file other false allegations toward this end, as she did with her previous husband and her older daughter.
What can I do to protect my rights as a father and my daughter's rights to be with me against such maneuvers? In practice, do I have any chance of getting primary custody of my daughter given my employment and ability to care? What kind of custody arrangements are most often delivered by courts to fathers of young infants?
