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In Texas, how does parental alienation affect child custody outcomes?

Parental Alienation in Texas

Parental alienation in Texas can have an impact on the final custody decision. Child custody cases are difficult enough, but when one parent pits the child or children against the other parent, things can become even more difficult.

Under Texas law, courts will generally agree that both parents should be equally involved in their child’s life because the court always acts in the best interests of the child. However, because parents are naturally protective of their children, it is not uncommon for them to go toe-to-toe and fight for sole custody of the children.

Courts act in the best interests of children and generally agree that both parents should be involved in their child’s life. If one parent attempts to alienate the other, the court may view this as harmful to the child and decide to place the child with the other parent.

We experience that there are different sorts of parental alienation: passive and direct. Both types of alienation involve actions aimed at disparaging and turning a child against one of his or her parents.

What is parental alienation?

Parental alienation, also known as Parental Alienation Syndrome, is the attempt to ruin or negatively affect the child’s connection with or perception of the other parent.

If a parent denigrates and dehumanizes the other parent in front of a child, the child may develop similar negative feelings toward the other parent. Sometimes the parent does this inadvertently, with no intention of exposing the child to this behavior. Other times, the parent may purposefully expose the child in an attempt to sway the child to their side, which they may see as advantageous in a child custody case.

Parental Alienation & Levels of Rejection
image via texaspcs.org

Parental alienation can stress the parent-child relationship and lead to emotional and social problems in the child. In fact, these effects can last well into the child’s adulthood. According to Amy Baker, author of Adult Children of Parental Alienation Syndrome, who spoke to U.S. News, “the long-term implications are pretty severe.”

Parental Alienation: A War of Words

Parental Alienation is almost similar to the movie War of the Worlds except the concept seems to portray the title War of the Words. Does one child ever fully recover from the words used to bring hate and anger? Can they move past the destruction, false memories, betrayal, and systematic behavior? The alienating parent has destroyed any belief in having a mentally healthy child. The AP will not realize this because in most cases they have mental issues themselves.

A child goes through strong emotions and deals with the circumstances in various ways. A number of adolescents rebel and act out in vicious behavior while others silently suppress the issues. A parent’s first reaction is to “explain” who they really are to the child. During this time the child is trying to put pieces together of fact from fiction.

The interaction with a child/parent becomes a war of words. The parent defends their actions and brings truth while the child has trouble understanding the factors between the parents. There is a war of words between the parents, children, and extended family.

The tool used in alienation is words and the speech patterns that impose fear on the children. Children receive praise for bad behavior towards the targeted parent. Some family units allow the children to do whatever they want so they don’t want to visit or live with TP because there are rules.

The dysfunctional thinking process that the parent has influences the child to believe their side of the story. The time comes when the child’s thinking process is paralyzed and they feed off the alienating parent’s emotion. Mom/Dad is mad at me if I spend time with the other parent. Children feel their emotions and look for reactions so they know how to react.

The family unit then gets introduced to the judicial system. The targeted parent goes in thinking that they will receive justice. It is then that the war of words starts in the courtroom and we realize that there is no justice. It is an emotion that leads to losing all hope, for example, if we watched a family member get murdered in front of us and we watched them get away with it and receive no punishment. This is the feeling many parents walk out of court feeling… baffled.

The war of the words damages many people but in the end, the children suffer.

What are Signs of Parental Alienation?

If your Texas divorce was contentious enough to result in a resentful child custody battle, don’t rule out the possibility of parental alienation happening to you. Here are some indications that your ex-spouse is separating you from your child.

Parental alienation is possibly the cause if your child:

  • suddenly acts and speaks disrespectfully, especially when in the presence of the other parent;
  • In the midst of the divorce proceedings, your child abruptly stops communicating with you;
  • is refusing to spend some time with you;
  • trashes gifts, mail, or other items given to them by you;
  • refuses to hear anything negative or unfavorable about the other parent;
  • is also unkind to your relatives.

If you suspect you are a victim of parent alienation in the midst of a child custody dispute, consult with a Texas family law attorney to take the necessary steps.

Consequences of Parental Alienation

Brainwashing a child to despise one parent through propaganda can be extremely detrimental to a child’s development as well as his or her mental and emotional well-being. Manipulation of a child to believe that one caregiver has been abusive or unloving is, for all intents and purposes, child abuse.

However, as family courts become more aware of the reality of parental alienation, the burden of proving its existence during a child custody battle will eventually fall on the shoulders of an experienced family law attorney.

Texas Family Code

According to the Texas Family Code, the Court will try to ensure that both parents are equally involved in their child’s life. The Court will always act in the best interest of the child. However, identifying parental alienation can be a difficult process because any judge or jury would assume that children who dislike one parent must be doing so for a legitimate reason. Assumptions would then point to the alienated parent’s abuse or neglect.

How to Deal with Parental Alienation

Because parental alienation in Texas can have an impact on the outcome of a custody case, it is critical to act quickly if you start noticing warning signs. Contact a legal professional right away; there are a few steps you can take to fight back.

When parental alienation or negative behavior occurs on the other side, it is best to confront it. Keep in mind that you’ll need to provide evidence of parental alienation attempts in order for the judge to grant you more beneficial possession orders OR to change an existing custody agreement.

One method is to provide substantiation of conversations in which the other party attempts to alienate the child. You must, however, present the entire conversation, which is known as the Rule of Optimal Completeness. That is why it is critical to bear it when your ex spews venom at you. Those full conversations could also incriminate you if you don’t keep quiet.

In particular, your lawyer may be able to:

  • use the testimony of mental health experts.
    seek custody modification so that your child can be placed in a neutral environment.
  • enforce custody agreements that allow you to see your child even if he or she refuses to see you
  • request therapeutic intervention from the courts to address the underlying issues
  • make a request for the appointment of a parental coordinator.

If the child is 12 or older, the judge can also conduct a private interview with him or her to determine who the child would prefer to live with. While that is theoretically the only question the judge is allowed to ask the child in Texas, judges frequently learn a lot more about the child’s home life during such dialogues.

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