In the months and years following your divorce, it’s important that you protect your children. One thing you may need to protect them from is parental alienation on the part of their other parent. If you suspect your ex is badmouthing you to your kids, you need to put a stop to it right away. It doesn’t take much to change your children’s impression of you. This is especially true if you are not the custodial parent.
If you only get to see your kids on the weekends, that doesn’t leave a lot of time to show them how much you love them and care about them. Our Tomball child custody lawyers have met with hundreds of clients over the years who were the victims of parental alienation. If you feel this is happening to you, contact our office immediately.
We can sit down and figure out how we can put a stop to it. If need be, your Tomball child custody lawyer will file a motion with the family court. Of course, it isn’t easy to prove that your ex-spouse or partner is engaging in this sort of behavior. Here, we will discuss what you can do to keep track of this behavior.
We will also explain what your attorney can do to protect you from having your relationship with your children tainted. If you still have questions about parental alienation or feel that you’re a victim of this behavior, contact our office.
What Constitutes Parental Alienation in Texas?
Parental alienation is just what you would imagine it is. When one parent speaks disparagingly of the other parent, it can harm their children. There are numerous ways in which this can happen. Some of these include:
- One parent calls the other parent negative words, such as lazy, unfit, or selfish.
- A child’s father tells them that their mother had been with so many men that they can’t be sure they are even their father.
- A mom tells her kids that their father is abusive or an alcoholic.
- Either parent paints a negative picture of the other in their children’s minds.
- A mom or dad doesn’t allow their kids to talk to the other parent on the phone.
- One parent hides the gifts and notes from the other parent to make it look like they don’t care about their children.
Any of these things can hurt a child. If they start to believe that their one parent doesn’t care about them, it can take its toll. At a minimum, it will cause that child to not want to spend time with the other parent. Hence the term, parental alienation.
It’s Very Difficult for Your Tomball Child Custody Lawyer to Prove Parental Alienation
The problem with proving that your ex is engaging in parental alienation is that there is rarely hardcore evidence. Since the only evidence is often considered hearsay, it may not be admissible in court. The other problem is that the courts do not want to see either Tomball child custody lawyer dragging the kids into court.
This means that there may not be a chance for your children to testify about what their other parent is doing. For example, if your ex has told your children that you are living with another man and that you don’t want them to come home, that can scar your children for life. Unfortunately, the only way to get this evidence admitted is to keep notes in a journal.
Your Tomball Child Custody Lawyer Can File a Motion with the Court
The best thing your Tomball child custody lawyer can do is file a motion with the court. It’s not wise to file a motion asking the judge to punish the other parent for their parental alienation. Instead, your attorney should file a motion to modify child custody. In essence, they will ask the judge to grant you more time with your kids. This way, you can restore their opinion of you. It will also give you a chance to repair your relationship with your children.
This does not mean that your Tomball child custody lawyer won’t bring up parental alienation. In fact, they will speak to this behavior in your certification. When you submit your motion, you must include a certification that tells your story.
This certification is meant to provide support for your request. This is where you can point out the things your ex is doing to poison your kids against you. They can refer to specific acts of parental alienation. They can even submit copies of text messages, emails, or letters where your ex speaks poorly about you in front of your kids.
Reach Out to a Tomball Child Custody Lawyer Who Understands How Hurtful Parental Alienation Can Be
If you believe your ex-spouse is poisoning your children against you, it’s in your best interest to contact a Tomball child custody lawyer right away. It can be hard to undo this kind of damage. Once your children have come to believe that you don’t love them, or that you’re a bad person, it may be difficult to convince them otherwise. Your ex knows this. They also know that it’s almost impossible to prove that they’re engaging in parental alienation.
If you listen to the advice here, you may have some evidence that this is going on. However, without an experienced Tomball child custody lawyer by your side, it may not matter. The judges tend to blame the parent who is claiming the alienation is taking place. It’s critical that your attorney files a motion with the court to put an end to this sort of behavior.
We suggest that you contact our office today and schedule a time to come into the office. Sit down with a seasoned Tomball child custody lawyer who has handled dozens of cases like this before. They know what it takes to prove that parental alienation is taking place. They also understand how to file a motion and demand that the court protect your rights as a parent.
