Fighting for child custody in family court can already be a
battlefield of sorts. However, the main goal is to keep any children
from the divorcing parents feeling like they are either at fault or
having to choose one parent over the other. Even though this is the
goal, things do not always work out this way. At the Law Offices of
Jef Henninger, Esq., our aggressive child custody lawyers are
experienced at handling case of parental alienation between divorced
or separated couples. While courts in New Jersey are not known to
acknowledge pleas of parental alienation, they do recognize if a
parent is filing motions for modified parenting time or custody in a
way to interfere with the other parent's time with the child. Both
are considered contributing into parental alienation.
But how do you recognize that parental alienation is occurring
between you and your child? Parental alienation in general is when
one parent deliberately engages in an effort to distance the child
from the other parent. There are three types of alienation that are
seen in these kinds of cases. Naive alienators are when the parent is
being passive about the child's relationship with the other parent,
but may occasionally say something or do something that may convince
the child to alienate. This is common in divorcing parents as you may
say something damaging about your ex-spouse, without realizing the
child is hearing what you are saying. Active alienators are parents
who are really emotionally upset to the point that they may lose
control over their behavior and what they say about the other parent
from time to time. While they may feel guilty later on, if the child
overhears or sees this type of behavior, the child may start to have
fear, anger or hatred towards the other parent to cause such a
behavior from the parent, even if it was not intentional.
Obsessed alienators are what most people think of when parental
alienation is an issue in a child custody battle. This type of
alienator is purposefully trying to cause damage between the other
parent's parent-child relationship. While with naive and active
alienators there is sometimes a combination of the two types, with
obsessed alienators this rarely occurs. These three types are not
validated sufficient for litigation and are more for your own
personal use and to help describe your situation to your child
custody attorney.
Depending on the degree of severity will determine if you do or do
not have a case to fight against parental alienation in a court of
law. A parent occasionally calling the other parent a derogatory name
will not be considered that severe since most children can brush that
off. However, if there is a constant barrage of vilification towards
the other parent with no justification, and frivolous motions being
filed to modify parenting time, the situation is very severe and
legal action should be taken.
But how do you know if the relationship between you and your child is
suffering due to parental alienation? There are certain signs to take
notice of when you do spend time with your child. If your child is
exhibiting unfounded anger towards you, repeats vilifying statements
the alienator has said, exhibits irrational beliefs, reasoning for
the hatred are not based on personal experiences of the child, or if
your child expresses desire to cancel visitation with you, parental
alienation may be occurring.
If you or a loved one is concerned that the other parent is trying to
separate you from your children, contacting a knowledgeable parental
alienation lawyer is critical to retain a healthy relationship with
your child. Our highly skilled child custody attorneys at the Law
Offices of Jef Henninger, Esq., have dealt with numerous
high-conflict child custody fights in New Jersey and will help come
up with the an aggressive legal defense for you. To see what we can
do for you, call our 24/7 hotline at 732-773-2768 and receive a free
initial consultation with no obligation to discuss your parental
alienation, parental rights and child custody matters.
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