Orland Park Parental Alienation Attorney

Divorce Lawyers Assisting With Child Custody Disputes in New Lenox and Frankfort

During your divorce, you will want to do everything you can to protect your children from the emotional, legal, and financial issues that are involved in dissolving your marriage. Unfortunately, your ex-spouse may not share these same desires, and they may attempt to influence the court's decisions in your divorce case by alienating your children against you. When you feel like you are being buried in an avalanche of concerns about your children and other issues in your divorce case, you need a skilled lawyer on your side to protect your rights and your children's best interests.

At Wakenight & Associates, P.C., our family law attorneys have a combined total of over 95 years of legal experience. We have represented clients in a wide variety of high conflict divorce cases, and we can provide you with the legal help you need to address parental alienation and other issues related to your children as you work to complete your divorce.

Parental Alienation and Child Custody

Divorce can cause a great deal of emotional distress for both parties, and some people respond to this distress by lashing out and attempting to hurt their former partner. One particularly problematic way a divorcing parent can do so is by trying to negatively influence their children's feelings about the other parent. Parental alienation can take a variety of forms, including:

• Criticizing the other parent in front of children or speaking negatively to children about them.
• Blaming the other parent for the divorce or sharing inappropriate information with children about why the marriage ended.
• Claiming that the other parent does not want to see the children or spend time with them.
• Refusing to provide information about children's medical treatment, education, or activities to the other parent.
• Refusing to abide by the parenting plan.

In many cases, parental alienation occurs because a parent wishes to influence decisions about child custody and parenting time. They may believe that if they can win the children over to their side of the divorce dispute, the children will prefer to spend time with them rather than the other parent, and they may expect children's wishes to play a significant role in the decisions made by the court. However, acting in this way can have serious consequences.

Under Illinois law, both parents are presumed to be fit and able to care for their children. Unless a parent believes in good faith that their children's health or safety are at risk when they are in the care of the other parent, they cannot interfere with the other parent's parenting time. If a parent does attempt this type of interference, either by refusing to allow children to spend time with the other parent or by attempting to alienate children against the other parent, they may have their own parental responsibility restricted.

Contact a Mokena Child Custody Lawyer

If you believe that your ex is attempting to alienate your children against you, it is important to act quickly to protect your parental rights and your children's best interests. Our attorneys can help you demonstrate that parental alienation has occurred, and we can also address any concerns you may have about a parent's mental health or substance abuse. Contact our office at 815-727-6144 to arrange a free consultation today. From our Mokena law office, we assist parents with family law concerns in Tinley Park, Orland Hills, Oak Forest, Homer Glen, Lockport, Joliet, and Will County.