Child custody cases can be emotionally challenging for parents, especially when parental alienation is a factor in the situation. Parental alienation occurs when a parent engages in behaviors that manipulate or distort the child’s perception of the other parent, ultimately damaging their relationship. If you are going through difficult child custody proceedings and believe parental alienation is something your spouse is engaging in, let your lawyer know immediately so appropriate actions can be taken to ensure the conduct can be stopped.

What Does Parental Alienation Entail?

Frequently, parental alienation involves behaviors that may include making derogatory remarks about the other parent, interfering with visitation or communication, or actively encouraging the child to reject or fear the other parent without valid reasons. 

The Legal Implications of Parental Alienation in Texas

In Texas law, the court’s primary consideration in custody cases is the child’s best interests. Parental alienation is viewed as contrary to the child’s best interests, as it can lead to severe emotional harm and disrupt the child’s relationship with the alienated parent. The Texas court will consider each parent’s willingness and ability to facilitate and encourage a positive relationship between the child and the other parent. 

Although parents usually make decisions that are in the best interests of their children, Texas family law courts recognize that a parent’s judgment may be blinkered during divorce. Unfortunately, divorce often turns into a zero-sum competition between spouses and when the children get caught in the middle, fights over custody, false accusations, and other high-conflict behaviors can emerge. 

Texas courts must therefore try to objectively determine what is in a child’s best interests and make child custody decisions accordingly. Generally speaking, judges are reluctant to give one parent full custody, and any parent seeking full custody must demonstrate that there is a good reason to grant that arrangement. However, there are certainly situations where the children are better off staying away from one parent, and it can be helpful to know what those are.

When is Full Custody Given to One Parent in Texas? 

Before answering this question, it is important to distinguish between the two parts of child custody: “possession and access” and “conservatorship.” “Possession and access” refers to a parent’s right to spend time with a child. “Conservatorship” refers to a parent’s decision-making authority over a child. A parent with all the decision-making authority and exclusive possession and access has sole managing conservatorship, which is what most people mean when they say “full custody.” When a parent has full custody of a child, then that child is in their care full-time, and only that parent makes decisions for the child. 

Divorce, family crises and other issues often lead to grandparents assuming the primary parenting role for their grandchildren. While some pursue adoption to validate the relationship legally, many others provide that care informally.

Reasons grandparents assume the primary parenting role

While many factors exist for grandparents taking over raising their grandkids, most are related to difficulties that prevent parents from effectively providing that care. These include:

• Parental substance abuse
• Child abuse and neglect
• Physical or mental illness
• Child disability
• Unemployment
• Military deployment
• Abandonment
• Death of one or both parents
• Teenage pregnancy
• Incarceration

Challenges grandparents face for raising grandchildren

When grandparents assume the primary parenting role for their grandkids, they can face several obstacles, and the responsibilities can feel overwhelming. These include:

Child abuse is a serious matter that relies on responsible adults to help put an end to it. Without the actions of someone who witnessed the abuse, the child can continue to suffer indefinitely.

This type of abuse is far more common than you may expect, with nearly 700,000 cases occurring annually. Knowing how to identify and report all forms of child abuse can help save the life of a child near you; here is what to look for:

Signs of child abuse

Child abuse can come in many different varieties. Physical abuse can be difficult for an abuser to hide, but it is possible. If a child has obvious makeup on their face, neck, or other areas of the body, it may be covering bruises. An abusive parent may force a child to wear baggy clothes even on hot days, or a child may cover themselves up from shame.