Is It Okay To Talk To The Child About The Alienating Parent’s Behavior?

Although very experienced in all aspects of family law, Kelly Peterson also has specific expertise for and specializes in cases involving parental alienation, gatekeeping, and parent time interference.

If the child spontaneously brings up the alienating parent’s behavior or spontaneously starts talking, one of the things that Attorney Kelly Peterson has his clients do is record the conversation if possible. The parent should not, however, be pumping the child for additional information. If the child is talking about it spontaneously, however, he or she shouldn’t be told not to talk about it. It may be ok to ask vague questions but the person should not be forensically interviewing the child. That’s inappropriate.

As the parent, you can comfort the child but not in a way that disparages the other side, or in a way that pumps the child inappropriately for more information. That would be tainting the child’s credibility as well as the parent’s own credibility.

Should A Conversation With The Child Be Recorded In The Journal Of Events?

In the state of Utah it is legal for one party to record a conversation so long as they’re a part of it, whether it is in person or over the phone. If obtained appropriately, some of the most compelling evidence one can have is the child talking about what is going on. It’s just that it has to be spontaneous and it can’t be engineered. The child can’t be pumped for additional information. It has to be somewhat spontaneous on the child’s part, and any follow-up questions from the parent have to be very vague and non-leading. If they ask a leading question, then that automatically diminishes the child’s credibility.

Specialist For Cases Involving Parental Alienation, Gatekeeping, and Parent Time Interference.

How Can Other Adults Be Utilized In Parental Alienation Cases?

Other people can be used as witnesses in parental alienation cases, such as what they have observed the alienating parent say or do in front of the child. Those observations and statements are important.

One of the things that Attorney Kelly Peterson has his clients do is search for such witnesses. If there are people that his client is aware of who has observed alienating kinds of behavior from an alienating parent, then their statements and their testimony become significant. Keep in mind there can be passive and active alienation. Just because a witness doesn’t observe something overt and intentional as far as alienation goes, that doesn’t mean they are not observing alienation.

For more information on Talking With A Child On Parental Alienation, an initial consultation is your next best step. Contact Us online or call us to arrange a consultation at (801) 616-3301 today.