Reversal of Custody and the Law

New case law - reversal of residence and alienation
https://thecustodyminefield.blogspot.com/2014/06/new-case-law-reversal-of-residence-and.html

Lady Justice Macur gave firm and clear guidance about the importance of contact. Parents who obstruct a relationship with the other parent are inflicting untold damage on their children and it is, in my view, about time that professionals truly understood this."

"The possibility of short-term upset must be balanced against the long-term benefits which are likely to accrue if contact is established."

"namely that the court should consider whether the fundamental need of every child to have an enduring relationship with both parents is outweighed by the depth of harm to the particular child that might thereby be caused by the contact order."

"It is essential that the passage of time should not become conclusive in depriving the children of a relationship with their father."

At paragraph 17 "It is a case in which the passage of the years has almost become conclusive and should not be allowed to become conclusive without a major judicial effort to rescue for these children a relationship with their father before it is too late."

'If these parents were capable of working in harmony, and there were no difficulties about the exercise of shared parental responsibility, I would have .... made no order as to residence.'

[32] No parent is perfect but 'good-enough parents' should have a relationship with their children for their own benefit and even more in the best interests of the children. It is, therefore, most important that the attempt

the child will not benefit from continuing the attempt.

The application by the father's counsel for a psychological assessment is the possible key to a reconsideration of future contact...

Mrs Justice Bracewell discussed at paragraph 10 the (then) lack of powers available to the court to address intractable contact disputes (prior to the Children and Adoption Act 2006 introducing new 'contact activity directions' and 'enforcement powers'). She points out that indirect contact is the worst of options in addressing intractable cases (and in this case, there being parental alienation and substantial false allegations as a factor).

The judge transferred residence to the father.

M (Children) (Contact: Long Term Best Interests) [2005] EWCA Civ 1090

"Justice to the children and the deprived parent require the Court to leave no stone unturned that might resolve the situation and prevent long term harm to the children." "Includes the Court directing a psychiatric or psychological assessment from an expert experienced in dealing with families with children with problems of this kind." "...the Court should not stand by and take no positive action."

G (A Child) [2006] EWCA Civ 348

The Court should "pursue all possible avenues to the resumption of direct contact" established in particular in G (A Child) [2006] EWCA Civ 348. "Whatever the difficulties, however scant the prospects of success, the courts must not relent in pursuit of the restoration of what had been a natural relationship between father and daughter, absent compelling evidence that the welfare of the child requires respite."

A (A Child) [2007] EWCA Civ 899

The report was to the effect that the mother suffered a personality disorder which rendered her incapable of controlling her emotions when confronted, directly or indirectly, by the father on occasions of contact; that, albeit that he, Dr Anderson, understood that S had not yet been harmed by the level of conflict generated by the mother, such would not remain the case; and that the continued parental alienation likely to be visited by the mother upon him and the attendant emotional pressure upon him would lead to significant psychological difficulties for him. The mother persistently interfered with contact arrangements including breaches of an interim order, and it was the opinion of the independent social worker that the child must live with the father. 29. This case affords another vivid illustration of the inability of a court, in any jurisdiction, to protect children from all the consequences of the way their parents choose to behave. Where criticism of parenting is exclusively referable to issues of contact a transfer of residence will, of course, always remain the exceptional response, but there must be times when the court is able and seen to be willing to carry through a transfer of residence when all else has failed.

31. In my judgment, the learned judge was fully entitled to follow what, admittedly, was a dramatic course; it was one that will bring real if transitory cost to the child but one in which, in my judgment, he was fully entitled to carry through. There was simply no real alternative and, had the judge not made the order that he had made, in effect, the court would be giving up on this family and allowing the mother to behave in whatever way she chose."

Re A (Suspended Residence Order) [2009] EWHC 1576 (Fam) COLERIDGE J "a crucial measure of a resident parents 'good enough' parenting is whether they promote frequent and continuous contact with the non resident parent." - Dr Cameron

Burgess v Stokes [2009] EWCA Civ 548 "The days are long gone when mothers can assume that their role as carers of children protects them from being sentenced to immediate terms of imprisonment for clear, repeated and deliberate breaches of contact orders." - Ward LJ

Parental Alienation and Custody Battles

https://www.msmlaw.ca/parental-alienation-and-custody-battles/

Custody battles are a difficult time for all parties involved. They become even more difficult when one parent alienates (unfairly manipulates a child to reject the other parent) a child against the other parent. Thankfully courts are moving towards an extreme approach in such cases, and may go as far as to remove a child from the custody of an alienating parent and place them in the custody of the alienated parent, provided they undergo reconciliation therapy.

Reverse Custody with Therapy: A.M. v C.H.

In the recent case of A.M. v C.H., the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's decision to remove an alienated child from the custody of his alienating mother and place him in the sole custody of his alienated father. The child was not permitted to see his mother until he satisfied the court that he was meaningfully engaging in reconciliation therapy with his father.

Parental Alienation Leads to Child-Custody Change in Jonesborough, Tennessee: McClain v. McClain

https://herstontennesseefamilylaw.com/2017/09/27/parental-alienation-leads-to-child-custody-change-in-jonesborough-tennessee-mcclain-v-mcclain/

One of the statutory factors Tennessee courts consider in determining the child's best interests is the willingness and ability of each of the parents to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship between the child and both of the child's parents. When people speak of parental alienation, Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-6-106(a)(2) is the relevant statutory factor. After reviewing the record, the Court determined "the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court's finding that the Children had been severely alienated against Mother with that alienation supported by Father." After noting that the parents and children had attempted counseling for several years while Father's alienating behavior continued, the Court affirmed the trial court's decision to change custody. Thus, the trial court's judgment was affirmed.

https://herstontennesseefamilylaw.com/2017/09/27/parental-alienation-leads-to-child-custody-change-in-jonesborough-tennessee-mcclain-v-mcclain/

Parental Alienation: SUCCESS story!

Ashish Joshi
https://www.facebook.com/100000243464677/posts/5444459892238739/

A Dad who had almost given up. A son who claimed to be "terrified" of his dad, refused to call him dad and instead called the father by his first name, refused to ride with the dad, refused to engage. With a proper legal intervention—a temporary no contact order and separation between the alienating mother and the child—coupled with proper mental health intervention, we see RESULTS. The dad's got the kid back. Had a great vacation. The kid's finally engaging, laughing, enjoying the time with the father. Stay tuned for a podcast or an article on how timely and appropriate intervention makes all the difference in a PA case.

From Law Blog of Charles Jamieson, Esquire

https://blog.cjamiesonlaw.com/parental-alienation-and-divorce-alienated-teenagers-wishes/

‐ these children can be so convincing about their resolve to have their own way in terms of having no contact with a parent that they convince the court they are beyond its authority. Such behaviors can induce a sense of helplessness in judges, mental health professionals, parents, and other court professionals involved in the process.

However, professionals and parents dealing with these terrible situations should not feel so hopeless. Recent studies have reported that most children's protests evaporate when reunited with a rejected parent. Instead of appeasing a teenager's demands, the courts can order an intervention to assist children in adjusting to court orders that place them with their rejected parent. Professionals dealing with older children in Florida parental alienation cases need to remember that:

‐‐ Adolescents comply with many rules and expectations that are often not of their own choosing. Consequently, it is a mistake to assume that teenagers do not benefit from an assertion of authority on the part of the court and their parents. Adolescents need adult guidance, structure and limits as much as, if not more than, younger children do;
‐‐ Children of any age need to understand that they are not above the law or beyond its reach. It is a dangerous lesson to teach a teenager that they can get their way if they decide they're going to act inappropriately or threaten inappropriate behavior; and
‐‐ Even though teenagers may have more mature cognitive capacities than younger children, adolescents are still suggestible, are highly vulnerable to external influence, and are highly susceptible to immature judgments and behaviors. These limitations are well known in the fields of adolescent development and neuropsychology, and by parents. These limitations account, in part, for the consensus view of the American Psychological Association that juveniles merit different treatment by the criminal legal system than adults receive.

At paragraph 17 "It is a case in which the passage of the years has almost become conclusive and should not be allowed to become conclusive without a major judicial effort to rescue for these children a relationship with their father before it is too late."

FINAL COMMENT (From Author of Hope In Darkness) Sadly, as an experimental psychologist, I specialize in the observation and measurement of behavior. Learning theory spawned behavior solutions that worked in addressing even pathological behavior. I am trying to influence solutions to the victims of alienation through the lens of directive behavioral strategies, which recognize the pathology quickly and implement procedures that are both intuitively reasoned and we now know are effective modifiers that remove the victims from the experience field that caused and maintained the aberrant alienation influenced behaviors. But the meteoric rise of the clinical counselor, psychologist, social worker is non-directive. While listening to their clients, they more than often are manipulated into becoming allies, causing unimaginable damage empathetically supportive in a way that reinforces the pathologies allowing the client to lead the way. Its a cash cow that I believe rises to malpractice and deliberate incompetence. I have several clinical people who are in full agreement. When you encounter a person with a life threatening behavior, you don't support them with compassionate talk, you identify the enabling circumstances and remove them from the source of danger. Immediate and fast protection is the pathway to recovery. The courts unfortunately are still caught up in the spell of Freudian psychotherapy, which directly enables the pathology to grow and fester.