Cumming GA Parental Alienation Attorneys

Protecting the Custody Rights of Parents in Forsyth County

Child custody determinations can get heated and contentious, especially if one parent wants to minimize the custody rights of the other parent. Parents in this situation might be tempted to engage in questionable conduct to influence their child and the custody determination. One example of such conduct is referred to as parental alienation.

If you believe that your child’s other parent is engaging in this type of harmful behavior, you should not wait to discuss the matter with a Forsyth County parental alienation lawyer. The legal team at Banks, Stubbs & McFarland is ready to help.

What is Parental Alienation?

Parental alienation is manipulating or bullying a child into choosing or favoring one parent over the other. Not only can parental alienation sway a child toward one parent, but it can deprive them of a loving and fulfilling relationship with their other parent.. For this reason, a child can suffer emotional harm from parental alienation.

Some behaviors that might be considered parental alienation include:

  • Disparaging the other parent to the child
  • Blaming the other parent for the divorce or breakup of the family
  • Lying about the other parent’s intentions or conduct
  • Refusing visitation with the other parent
  • Trying to move the child out of state to be farther away from the other parent without justification

Parental alienation is generally a systematic effort to convince the child to cling to one parent while shunning the other. This is often accomplished by convincing the child that the other parent does not love or care for them, which is often false.

Legal Effects of Parental Alienation

Georgia law does not specifically address the issue of parental alienation. However, the law requires that custody decisions be made based on the best interests of the child. The law presumes that maintaining relationships with both parents is in the best interests of a child- absent exceptional circumstances -

One factor that courts consider when making custody decisions is whether each parent is willing and able to encourage and facilitate a relationship between the child and the other parent. When one parent is trying to alienate the child from the other without reason, that behavior is a factor when it comes to custody decisions or modifications.

If you believe your child’s other parent is engaging in alienation, you should discuss the matter with an experienced attorney right away. This conduct can be damaging to your child and to your relationship with your child, and you want to seek a custody modification or take other action to stop such harm as soon as possible.

Speak with a Cumming Parental Alienation Lawyer Right Away

The law firm of Banks, Stubbs & McFarland works to uphold the rights of parents in Cumming and across Forsyth County. If you believe that your child’s other parent is engaging in harmful conduct or denying you parental rights, call 770-887-1209 or contact us online to speak with a trusted parental alienation attorney.