Often, courts will provide a shared physical custody ruling during a divorce. The court believes both parents should be involved in the child’s life and have a relationship with them, even after the marriage ends.
But one thing that can complicate this is parental alienation. This is when a child is manipulated by one parent so that they do not want to have a relationship with the other parent. This is sometimes done through lying, providing false information to the child or exaggerating issues that exist. It could also be done by blaming one parent exclusively for the divorce.
Why these tactics can become a problem
For instance, perhaps the court has ruled that you and your ex should exchange custody every other week, but your child has recently been refusing the exchanges and saying that they only want to live with your ex. You believe it is due to parental alienation because your ex has been lying about you to the child, such as telling them that you do not care about them, that you were the one who caused the divorce and otherwise painting you in a negative light.
The problem is that this manipulation may be used to circumvent the custody ruling. Perhaps your ex initially wanted to get sole custody, but the court ruled in favor of joint custody anyway. Your ex is now engaging in parental alienation because they are hoping they can get the child to reject you, essentially giving them the sole custody that they were initially after.
This is unfair to you and could be a violation of your parental rights, denying you the relationship you deserve with your child. Be sure you know what legal options you have in this situation.