How to deal with parental alienation in your custody case

On Behalf of | Jan 22, 2025 | Child Custody |

The uncertainty of your child custody case can leave you on edge, and hearing allegations that you are a bad parent can be heartbreaking. But if you put some preparation into your child custody case, then there’s a good chance that you can minimize or even eliminate the probative value of the other parent’s evidence.

As you engage in an analysis of the facts at hand, you might suspect that your child has been manipulated by the other parent in hopes of driving a wedge between you and your child. This is parental alienation, and you need to act quickly to bring it to a stop if you want to protect your child’s best interests and your relationship with them.

How can you spot signs of parental alienation?

Parental alienation isn’t as easy to spot as you’d think. All too often, unsuspecting parents write off parental alienation as one-off statements made by their child or as the other parent being difficult in a tense child custody situation. But you need to be cognizant of the signs of parental alienation if you want to achieve a fair and favorable outcome in your child custody dispute. So, be on the lookout for the following that could be indicative of parental alienation:

  • Your child’s incessant and harsh criticism of you as a parent.
  • Criticism from your child that extends to other members of your family.
  • Your child’s unrelenting support for the other parent.
  • Your child’s use of language that is beyond their age, particularly when they’re levying criticism your way.
  • Your child’s false beliefs about certain events, sometimes even going so far as to make false allegations of abuse or neglect.
  • The other parent preventing you contacting your child.
  • The other parent leaving you uninformed about important events that affect your child.
  • The other parent scheduling fun activities at times when you’re supposed to exercise visitation, putting you in a difficult position where there’s no answer that paints you in a positive light in your child’s eye.

There are other signs of parental alienation, but if you see any of these, then you need to dig deeper to get at the heart of what’s going on and what you can do to rectify it.

How can you stop parental alienation?

Although parental alienation can feel disheartening, there are steps you can take to bring it to a stop and protect your child. This includes doing the following:

  • Retaining communications from the other parent.
  • Gathering witness accounts from individuals who can attest to your relationship with and bond to your child.
  • Using a mental health expert who can evaluate the facts of your case to render an opinion as to whether alienation is occurring.
  • Requesting a child custody evaluation so that a neutral third-party can analyze the circumstances surrounding your child custody dispute and can develop a report that is submitted to the court.
  • Keeping a detailed journal of all events that you think may be indicative of parental alienation.

By being thorough here, you might develop the foundational building blocks needed to prove parental alienation in court. To fully bring alienation to a stop, you’ll likely have to file a motion to modify custody and present evidence as to why your requested change is in the child’s best interests. That can be a tricky thing to do, though, which is why now is the time to further your understanding of parental alienation and how you can present compelling evidence of it in court.