What Does It Take to Prove Parental Alienation?

parental-alienation

Parental alienation is the term for one parent’s intentional or unconscious behavior that encourages the child to reject the other parent. Alienating behavior includes subtle physical or verbal clues as well as overt actions and candid statements that punish the child for maintaining a positive relationship or reward the child for rejecting the targeted parent. Alienating behavior is most problematic when practiced by a custodial parent who has the child for a greater amount of time and can induce the child to cancel visitation sessions, cutting off access for the noncustodial parent.

You might be the victim of parental alienation if:

  • Your child no longer seems to enjoy doing favorite activities.
  • Your child is moody and won’t give you any explanation why.
  • Your child complains of not feeling well when you are together.
  • Your child finds excuses to cut your parenting time short.
  • Your ex cancels parenting time because your child is not “in the mood.”  

Of course, all of these signs could simply indicate that your child is an adolescent. So how can you prove parental alienation in court? Here are a few things to bear in mind:

  • Hire an attorney who understands how parental alienation works and has secured remedies for alienation from the court.
  • Document every detail of your interactions with your ex and your child that indicates alienation might be at work. Be specific in your account.
  • Don’t try to make your child out to be a victim of parental alienation syndrome. That won’t fly in New York courts. Keep the focus on your ex’s manipulative behavior.
  • Don’t play defense. You have a visitation order and it’s the custodial parent’s duty to make your child available to you.

Many targeted parents want to show the court how reasonable they can be, so they don’t fight back hard enough. That can lead the court to decide that it’s the targeted parent who is dragging out the proceedings to the detriment of the children. So, in the best interest of the children, the targeted parent has visitation restricted or denied.

Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, P.C. aggressively represents your parental rights. We never put you in the position of apologizing for fighting to maintain the affections of your child. It’s our commitment to the tough cases that has made us the largest and busiest divorce and family law practice on Long Island.

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