What is the best case law to cite about parental alienation?
What is the best case law to cite during a high conflict custody battle where parental alienation has been occurring?
If you know of any, please let me know. My e-mail address is eric@divorceutah.com.
Courts are, in my experience, very reluctant to acknowledge that parental alienation exists and does heinous damage to children and to parents, no matter how much or how compelling the evidence is that one provides.
I get that establishing parental alienation is hard as a matter of objective, verifiable proof, but courts make all kinds of crucial decisions on less than perfect information. I’m not suggesting that courts should arbitrarily and capriciously decide serious matters, but refusing to recognize parental alienation (not “parental alienation syndrome (PAS), just the acts and effects of one parent that estrange a child from his/her parent as the result of the other parent emotionally and/or psychologically manipulating the child, causing the child to fear or hold the other parent and that parent’s side of the family in contempt) cannot happen and does not frequently (not always, but far from rarely) occur is not just tragic, but needlessly tragic, when a preponderance of evidence is apparent.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
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