Many parents in a child custody dispute being tried in court are the target of a parental alienation campaign. For some parents, the alienation started long before the court case. For other parents, it’s the court case that leads the other parent to commence the parental alienation campaign.
Historically, courts have not been receptive to claims of parental alienation.
Too often this stems from courts writing off parental alienation claims as self-serving and motivated by one spouse’s animus for another. And clearly, a certain degree of skepticism is a wise approach to parental alienation claims. A judge should neither be inclined to believe or disbelieve a claim on its face. It should be (but sadly always isn’t) the case that the substance of the evidence, not the seriousness of the allegation, decides the issue.
The good news is that as courts are becoming more aware of what parental alienation is they are becoming more willing keep an open mind as they consider a parent’s efforts to make a case for parental alienation.
The bad news is that proving parental alienation is only half the battle. Even courts that find parental alienation exists often feel they are ill-equipped to remedy the situation. This article by Dr. J Michael bone explains how this arises:
Parental Alienation in Court: Dealing with Judicial Anxiety, 8/31/2017
Dr. J Michael Bone, Parental Alienation Consultant
http://www.jmichaelbone.com/blog1/parental-alienation-in-court-dealing-with-judicial-anxiety
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