• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Phone: 3465 9332

Logo
  • Home
  • Our Team
    • Courtney Barton – Legal Practice Director & Founder
    • George Finn – Director
    • Chris Colwill – Senior Associate
    • Ellie Prior – Associate
    • Hannah Radunz – Solicitor
    • Tenayah Miano – Paralegal
    • Alice Chapman – Paralegal
    • Rachel Elaurant – Legal Assistant
  • Our Services
    • Divorce Property Settlement Lawyers
    • Family Law Spousal Maintenance
    • Superannuation Splitting & Advice Lawyers
    • Child Custody Lawyers Brisbane
    • Child Support Lawyers
    • Child Relocation Family Lawyers
    • Child Abduction Family Lawyers
    • Fixed Fee Consent Orders Brisbane
    • Binding Financial Agreements
    • Fixed Fee Divorce Lawyers
    • Domestic Violence Lawyer – DVO Domestic Violence Order
    • Family Court Process
    • Family Mediation Services Brisbane
  • Fixed Fees
  • Common questions
    • Things you need to know following separation
      • Top 10 Myths in family Law Finally Exposed
      • Honesty is the best policy – Why tell your divorce lawyer everything
      • What to do and what not to do before you separate
      • Time Limits in Property Settlement
      • Family Court Process
      • Why you should formalise your property settlement
      • Fixed Fee Consent Orders Brisbane
      • Duty of Disclosure
      • Beware: failure to disclose may derail your consent order
      • Can the court order someone to leave a house? – Ouster Orders
      • Who stays in the home after separation?
      • Property Acquired after Separation – how is it treated?
      • Top 15 things people do wrong in a property dispute
      • Finally revealed: Top 10 things people do wrong in child custody matters
      • COSTS ORDERS
      • Going back to work after Divorce
      • 6 things you MUST know before hiring a family lawyer
      • Beware the criminal consequences of false allegations of sexual abuse
      • Divorce – What you need to know
      • Petrie Family Law Expert speaks about ‘The Twelve year Itch’
    • Spousal Maintenance
      • Family Law Spousal Maintenance
      • Spousal Maintenance – Do I have to support my ex after divorce?
      • Bodilly & Hand: Spousal Maintenance ordered 17 years after separation
    • Parenting / Child Custody
      • What is sole parental responsibility?
      • How does a DVO affect parenting orders?
      • I want sole custody of my child
      • Do you want sole Custody? Here’s what NOT to do.
      • Most Common Child Custody Arrangements
      • Drug use in family law explained
      • Interim Parenting Orders
      • How to deal with false allegations in family law
      • What is substantial and significant time?
      • Am I a parent?
      • Court Ordered Paternity Test – What, Why and How
      • My ex is in contravention of a Parenting Order. What can I do?
      • Gay Couple Win Appeal on sperm donor ‘parent’
      • How to spend more time with your children
      • Parental Alienation in Family Court Disputes – Part 1
      • Parental Alienation in Family Court Disputes: Part 2
      • Im not a parent. Can I apply for a parenting order? Non-Parent Parenting orders explained.
      • Can Parenting Orders be changed?
      • When are a child’s views given weight by a Court?
      • What age can a child decide where they live?
      • Application to change parenting orders because of children’s changed views dismissed
      • When can you change your child’s surname?
      • Courtney’s Cases: Interim Orders appealed as Judge avoids determining issues
    • Hague Convention & International Child Abduction
      • Child Abduction Family Lawyers
      • Rights to return of your child if taken to a Non-Hague Convention country
    • Relocation of children & Prevention
      • Child Abduction Family Lawyers
      • Child Relocation Family Lawyers
      • Unilateral relocation of children
      • Prevention is better than Cure – Interim Relocation of Children Cases
      • International Travel with Children After Separation
      • Airport Watch List Orders / Pace Alert Orders
      • Relocation – Full Court confirms decision allowing ADF Mother a ‘blank cheque’ relocation to wherever posted in her employment
    • Protecting Assets
      • 10 tips to Protect your Assets in a de facto relationship
      • Hiding assets in a divorce
      • Injunction to stop my ex selling assets
      • Protect your assets and your family after separation
      • My ex is selling assets. What can I do??
      • Superannuation Splitting & Advice Lawyers
      • What is a Superannuation Payment Flag?
      • Dunworth & Faletti: Application for injunction to stop sale of property where jurisdiction not yet established
    • De Facto relationships
      • Am I in a De Facto Relationship?
      • Breakdown of a De Facto Relationship – Fairbairn v Radecki
    • overseas orders
      • Impact of overseas divorce on Australian property settlement
      • Validity of Overseas Orders – Parenting, Marriage and Divorce Orders
      • Clayton & Bant – A multi-jurisdictional family law dispute
    • Property & Financial Settlement
      • Divorce Property Settlement Lawyers
      • Initial Contributions Count – 8 years + 1 child = 78%/82% to Husband
      • My Parents lent me money. Is it treated as a gift or a loan?
      • Difference between property and a financial resource in family law
      • Assessing initial contributions in a long relationship
      • The Alter Ego Principle – When a Spouse uses a trust to hide assets
      • CGT rollover for marriage breakdowns – Ellison & Sandini Explained
      • How Trusts are dealt with in a Property Settlement
      • Pet Custody – Who gets the dog in a divorce?
      • Redundancy payment – how is it treated?
      • Future inheritances – when can they be taken into account?
      • What is just and equitable?
      • Is domestic violence relevant in a property settlement?
      • Varying property orders
      • Defaulting on Property Orders is Dangerous
      • Effect of Bankruptcy on property settlement
      • Courtney’s Cases: Centrelink fraud or a fraudulent representation to the Court?
      • Limitation periods against solicitors for defective Financial Agreements
      • Court dismisses application for property settlement for same sex couple of 27 years
    • Binding Financial Agreements
      • Binding Financial Agreements
      • Is my Binding Financial Agreement Binding?
      • Does your Financial Agreement Protect you from a maintenance claim?
      • Superannuation Splitting in Financial Agreements
    • Child Support
      • Child Support Lawyers
      • I want to set aside a Binding Child Support Agreement
      • I want to challenge my child support assessment
    • Mediation Exemptions
      • Mediation
      • Can I go to court without doing mediation first?
      • Do I have to mediate before court? The exemptions Explained
      • NEWS ALERT – You do NOT need a s60I certificate to file your parenting application – Valack & Valack
    • Domestic Violence
      • Domestic Violence Lawyer – DVO – Domestic Violence Order
      • Common mistakes made in an application for a domestic violence order
      • Do’s and Don’ts when applying for a DVO to succeed
    • Narcissistic Abuse
      • What is Narcissistic Abuse and how to divorce a Narcissist
      • Top 10 Warning Signs of Narcissistic Abuse revealed
      • When is supervised time ordered? Is Narcissistic Abuse enough?
    • Unacceptable Risk
      • What is unacceptable risk & when will a Court change residence?
      • Mother’s persistent accusation that the Father sexually abused their child results in orders for no time with the Mother
      • Change in residence for children because of Mother’s inability to protect the children from harm
    • Evidence in parenting proceedings
      • Admissibility of opinion evidence & expert evidence in family law matters
      • Admissibility of recordings in family law cases
      • Admissibility of admissions at mediation in court proceedings
    • Covid-19
      • The Covid-19 Vaccination – Is mutual parental consent required?
      • I want to apply to the Family Court for inclusion in the Covid-19 List
    • Other Legal
      • NEWSFLASH – What are the New Family Law Rules?
      • Out With the Old, In With the New: Why Fixed Fees are better
      • Apprehended Bias – should Judges & lawyers have drinks pre-judgement?
      • Review of the Family Law System
      • Inquest of Jack & Jennifer Edwards – Lessons Learned
      • WARNING PRACTITIONERS: New Family Law Rules from 1 March 2018
  • Family Law Videos
  • Family Mediation
  • Contact Us
  • Success Stories
  • Narcissistic Abuse

Parental Alienation in Family Court Disputes: Part 2

March 11, 2018 By Barton Family Law

In our last blog we looked at parental alienation, the significant impacts of it on parents and children and some remedies being implemented by the courts in order to protect the child from this disease which is prevalent, in differing degrees, in family court parenting disputes.

Change of residence may be ordered where there is Parental Alienation

One remedy offered by the court’s where the alienating parent has significantly damaged the child’s relationship with the other parent, is incapable of repairing the damage caused and is assessed as having a limited capacity to encourage the child’s relationship with the other parent in the future, is a change of the child’s residence so that they live with the accused parent.

Courtney Barton, Petrie family law expert when asked about how the Court deals with parental alienation, states:

“There is increasing judicial willingness to consider a change in residence of a child where parental alienation is found to have occurred, the child’s welfare has been impacted and the court considers that a change of residence is the only sensible solution in order to minimise any further psychological trauma to the child and maximise the chances of the child having an ongoing relationship with that parent in the future.”

We are now going to examine some family court cases where the court has found that a parent’s course of conduct has caused damage to the child’s relationship with the other parent. In most of those cases, the Court took the drastic measure of ordering a change of the child’s residence.

Case Studies: Parental Alienation

Wang & Dennison (2009) – the Mother was found to have engaged in ‘behaviour intended to incite hatred in the children against the father’. No change of residence was ordered due to the child threatening self-harm if they were forced to live with the father. The court ordered that the children live with the Mother, that the parties complete a post separation orders program with a view to reunification with the Father.

Mitchell & Mitchell (2014) – the Father admitted he had denied the children their right to a meaningful relationship with their mother. The court reversed the children’s residence and made orders that the children live the Mother.

Feltham & Feltham (2014) – the father demonised the mother and turned the children against her. The court reversed the child’s residence and made orders that the children live with the Mother.

Chapple & Michel (2017) FCCA 177 – The Mother unilaterally relocated interstate with the child, changed her phone number and did not advise the father of her whereabouts. When the Father commenced court proceedings and orders were subsequently made for the child to spend time with the Father, the Mother failed to comply with them. The Court found that the Mother had a negative attitude towards the father, that she had failed to promote the father’s relationship with the child in the past or since the making of court orders and was unlikely to do so in the future. The Court found that the child was more likely to have an ongoing relationship with both parents in the father’s care and made orders for a change of residence to the Father.

What to do if you are experiencing parental alienation

Are you a parent who is the victim of parental alienation?

It is important to do the following:

  1. document any behaviour of a parent that is designed to destroy your relationship with your child.
  2. Ensure changeover of the child takes place in a public place and bring a support person with you when coming into contact with the other parent (but have them remain in the vehicle) so you have a witness to any negative and/or destructive behaviours by the other parent (note it is very important that you do not incite or contribute to any parental conflict in front of the children and diffuse any conflict if it does arise and remove the children from that conflict);
  3. Propose changeover at a contact centre to limit any possibility of the other party making false allegations against you in the future;
  4. Do not attempt to reason with your child about their rejection;
  5. Spend time with your child making positive memories.
  6. Never retaliate with verbal attacks on the alienating parent – always be the bigger person.

Parental alienation of children, no matter how serious, can greatly affect children, including their emotional and mental health and can cause ongoing issues for the child into adulthood.

It is therefore very important that you do not denigrate the other parent to your child or involve them in any parental conflict and, except where the child’s safety is at an unacceptable risk, you should do all you can so as to facilitate your child having a meaningful relationship with the other parent in the future.

If you are the target of parental alienation or involved in a parenting dispute where there is intractable conflict, we are here to help.

Contact us for more information and to receive your first consultation at a reduced rate.

parental alienation - judge hammer making decision

Filed Under: Commonly Asked Questions, Parent

Barton Family Law

Primary Sidebar

Online Enquiry

.

    I would like to book a reduced rate initial consultation with you

    Footer

    Areas of Practice

    • Child Custody Lawyers Brisbane
    • Divorce Property Settlement Lawyers
    • Fixed Fee Divorce Lawyers
    • Domestic Violence Lawyer – DVO Domestic Violence Order
    • Superannuation Splitting & Advice Lawyers
    • Fixed Fee Consent Orders Brisbane
    • Mediation Representation
    • Child Relocation Family Lawyers
    • Child Abduction Family Lawyers
    • Child Support Lawyers
    • Family Law Spousal Maintenance
    • Family Court Process
    • Family Mediation Services Brisbane
    • Binding Financial Agreements

    What makes us different from other Law Firms?

    Our Brisbane Divorce & Family Lawyers:

    • Only do family law all day every day. That makes us really good at what we do;
    • Are dedicated to helping you work through your family law issues so you can have a fresh start;
    • Have your best interests at heart;
    • Have the knowledge and experience to solve your family law problems, no matter how complex;
    • Will help you to reduce the conflict with your former partner;
    • Will fight for you and your children;
    • Provide exceptional quality service to you, tailored to your individual case needs;
    • Will educate you about your options, the steps you need to take and we will develop a strategy to help you to achieve a fair outcome and the best practical outcome for you and your family;
    • Will provide you with practical, realistic, commercial and strategic advice to empower you to make smart decisions following separation that will save you time, money and stress;
    • Will deliver an outcome to you quickly and cost effectively, with fixed fees for certainty;
    • Will do everything within our legal power to get you the best outcome for you and your family;
    • Are with you, supporting you, every step of the way from negotiations, to mediation, to litigation and settlement.
    Individual liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation.

    Contact Us

    Petrie Office

    • Address: 4/996 Anzac Avenue, Petrie QLD 4501
    • Parking: Underground parking available at the back of the building via O’Loan Street
    • Phone: 3465 9332
    • Email: [email protected]
    • Website: Petrie Family Lawyers

    Chermside Office

    • Address: 822 Gympie Road, Chermside QLD 4032
    • Phone: 3465 9332
    • Email: [email protected]
    • Website: Chermside Family Lawyers

    Aspley Office

    • Address: Aspley Hypermarket, 59 Albany Creek Road, Aspley QLD 4034
    • Phone: 3465 9332
    • Email: [email protected]
    • Website: Aspley Family Lawyers

    Copyright © 2022 | Website hosted by Lift Legal Marketing