Parental Alienation in Florida Family Law Cases
When you introduce your new baby to seasoned parents, they will warn you about the sleepless nights, the terrible twos, and the painful but necessary process of letting your children try to find solutions to interpersonal conflicts without immediately swooping down and intervening. What they will not warn you about is the pain you feel when your children reject you; parents who have experienced this remember it, but they seem unwilling to talk about it. Sometimes it is just a matter of teenagers being teenagers when your kids disagree with everything you say and avoid spending time with you. Not every baby who delights in your cuddles will grow up to be an adult who confides in you; every parent-child relationship is unique. What you do now can affect the long-term health of your relationship with your child. The only thing worse than your child refusing to see you is if it is your ex-spouse who has turned your children against you. While it is difficult for the courts to legislate interpersonal relationships, some signs of parental alienation are so obvious that the courts can impose rules against them. To find out more about preventing and overcoming parental alienation after divorce, contact a Boca Raton child custody lawyer.
Are You Contributing to Alienation Between Your Children and Your Ex-Spouse?
Parental alienation is when a child refuses to spend time with a parent or tries to avoid talking to the parent. It happens when one parent convinces the child that the other parent is his or her enemy. When the courts make findings about children’s best interests, in order to help the judge make decisions about parenting time, one factor they consider is whether one parent is trying to alienate the children from the other parent. If your divorce case goes to trial, and the court finds that you are alienating your children from your ex, the court will award more parenting time to your ex and less to you.
This should be enough to stop you from acting on your emotions in front of your children. Don’t say negative things about your ex in front of your children. When your ex makes a ridiculous demand or tells your children bald-faced lies, text a friend and make plans to talk when your children will be at school, with your ex, or otherwise out of earshot. Follow the parenting plan to the letter, even when your ex doesn’t.
What to Do If Your Ex Tries to Alienate Your Children From You
If your ex doesn’t let you exercise your parenting time or otherwise tries to alienate your children from you, you can take the matter back to court to enforce the parenting plan, or else modify it. The court might hold your ex in contempt, or else modify your parenting plan to give you more parenting time.
Contact Schwartz | White About Divorce Cases Involving Parental Alienation
A South Florida family law attorney can help you maintain a strong bond with your children after divorce. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
psychologytoday.com/us/basics/parental-alienation
