Who needs to know about the laws on parental alienation? Everyone! Even though there aren’t many laws in the U.S. that protect against parental alienation, divorce and custody cases will still take this into account.
By taking the right steps and working within the law, you can prove that your children are being hurt by parental alienation and help keep them safe. Taking these steps and understanding the laws on parental alienation will also protect you from the possible effects of alienated parenting.
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What is Parental Alienation?
Parental alienation is when a child’s mind is turned against one parent by the other. If it works, this kind of manipulation can seriously hurt your children’s emotional and mental health and change how they feel about the alienated parent. It can also affect custody and visitation rights.
Parental alienation happens when one parent tries to get custody of the kids during a divorce or wants to change the current custody arrangement by using the kids’ words and wishes against them.
Get to Know Parental Rights and Parental Alienation Law
Before a divorce or custody battle, each parent has the right to see their children. This can change, though, if one parent is abusive, charged with a crime, or poses any other kind of risk. When custody meetings or court cases happen, a plan is made by the two parents or by a judge, depending on how angry the two parents are with each other.
Read more: How to Prepare for A Custody Hearing
Parental alienation happens when one parent tries to keep the child from getting along with the other parent. There are many ways this can happen, such as:
The alienated parent’s children could say bad things about them in court. Children who have been alienated from a parent are often forced to think badly of that parent. They might say bad things about that parent in court, making it hard for that parent to get custody back.
If a parent who isn’t getting along with their child is slandered or told lies, it can hurt their character or reputation. Most of the time, parental alienation happens when one parent tells their children lies about the other parent. If these details are brought up in court or if the children who were affected by the parent confirm them, it could hurt the alienated parent’s reputation and make it harder for them to get custody.
If the kids aren’t watched, they could be put in a dangerous situation. If a parent tries to drive a wedge between the children and the other parent by telling the children that they are safe with one parent but not with the other, even though it may be the opposite, that parent may get custody. Unfortunately, this could put the kids in danger, especially if the parent who has custody abuses drugs or alcohol or doesn’t take good care of them.
Other countries have made laws against parental alienation because it puts children’s welfare at risk. Even though there aren’t any laws against parental alienation in the U.S. yet, this doesn’t mean that courts never think about it.
Parental Alienation Litigation and Trial
Because there aren’t many or any laws about parental alienation, you’ll need a lot of proof from the above methods to show that this is a problem. And no matter what happens, you should always stay calm and respectful during a meeting or trial.
Work with your lawyer to show the court how much alienation is happening, how it is hurting your kids (and, by extension, your relationship with them), and what proof you have. Parental alienation will be a part of your custody case for sure if you have enough proof and are well-organized.