Divorce is never easy for any member of a family, but child custody attorneys find that it can be especially difficult for the children.
Parents who act maliciously afterward, whether due to the divorce in general or because their custody case does not go how they feel it should, can make it even more difficult for the kids.
This kind of behavior from parents could indicate a need to get a child custody legal service involved once again.
An Explanation of Malicious Parenting
What is malicious parenting?
Also known by child custody lawyers as “malicious parent syndrome,” it is the act of one parent behaving in malicious ways to create friction with the other parent or between the other parent and the children.
It can involve emotional or physical abuse, neglect, gas-lighting, and many other negative actions toward one parent by another with the sole intent to damage the relationship between the other parent and the children.
A Need For Revenge
In doing so, the malicious parent becomes the “good” parent, at least to the kids.
It is a tactic that child custody lawyers see used as revenge against a spouse who filed for divorce or who may have been awarded primary conservatorship in the custody case or otherwise received favoritism in the eyes of the malicious parent.
This behavior is highly toxic, not only to the co-parenting relationship that attorneys hope that ex-spouses can manage but also to the children.
According to child custody lawyers, it is confusing, emotionally damaging, and can destroy the previously healthy relationships that children have with both of their parents.
Seek The Services of Experienced Child Custody Attorneys
Any divorced parent sharing custody with a spouse who begins to exhibit this kind of intentionally hateful behavior should immediately speak to a child custody lawyer who can help them get the situation resolved.
While the family court normally prefers co-parenting situations, it also recognizes the potential for damage when one parent acts maliciously toward the other.
Whatever it is that the malicious parent hopes to achieve by behaving in that way, child custody attorneys advise that it is unlikely they will do it as long as the other parent is able to show evidence of this behavior against them.
In fact, many courts may even penalize the malicious parent, as it could be considered perjury and a failure to abide by the legal custody order.
Parents Need to Consider Their Children When Divorcing
Divorces are never easy when they involve children, but the hope of parents, child custody attorneys, and family courts everywhere is that parents can somehow put their differences aside and act in the best interest of their children.
When that is not possible, it is time to get legal services involved to confront a malicious parent.
Talk to a child custody attorney today about the situation and how to put a stop to it.