Protecting Your Children
So we do talk a lot in my practice with our clients about alienation. And what does that mean? It means the other parent is bad-mouthing you or doing something destructive by the way that they are presenting information to a child that’s inappropriate to present to them. And it’s undermining your relationship with that child.
That is not illegal per se, but it’s definitely something that’s a standard issue that’s considered not in that child’s best interest. It is not in the child’s best interest to have them hear negative information about another parent when the parents are supposed to be co-parenting.
Dealing with Interference from Ex
But a subtle variation on that is what do you do when the other parent is bad-mouthing your family or the child’s other relatives? Well, that’s complicated, more complicated even than just the alienation issue because grandparents don’t typically have parental rights.
Certainly, cousins and other siblings don’t have rights per se. But there’s more of a soft approach that’s actually pretty valuable to your case. And here’s what it is. There’s always a good argument to be made that it’s in the best interest of your child or your children for them to have a relationship with your family.
Protecting Your Child’s Relationship with Extended Family
And so an experienced attorney should know how to utilize the idea that it is good for your child or children to have a relationship with your extended family to your benefit in your case, especially if the other parent is somehow discouraging or undermining that relationship with your family or your extended relatives.
