Parenting isn’t easy to begin with; it is much more difficult with a parent who is out to undermine you at every opportunity. This is what most parents who are in the midst of a divorce or custody battle feel like. To address this issue, it is common for one parent to try to cut the other out of major decisions or to limit parenting time because of how combative the other parent can be over the simplest of decisions.
While it may feel as if this is the only way to deal with a difficult parent, it may not be the best thing to do in the eyes of a family court judge. This post will briefly explain why.
First of all, family courts are not necessarily interested in making parents play nice and respect each other’s feelings. Instead, their focus is on making sure the child is being treated well and that their parents’ war is not harming them. Because of this, it is important for a parent who feels as if they are being bullied or intimidated to the other parent to really think about the content and the context of the arguments they have with the other parent.
In essence, if the other parent is upset about important choices that put the child in physical or emotional danger, these are disagreements to pay close attention to. Otherwise, it may be that the other parent is simply playing a game with you in order to trick you into making mistakes that can affect your custody rights.
If you have questions about how to manage a co-parenting relationship, an experienced family law attorney can help.
