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Abusive Use of Conflict Attorney in Seattle
Do you think there is a risk that a parent’s conduct may have a harmful effect on your child? If so, ask the court to limit that parent’s rights and/or visits with your child. A variety of restrictions can be placed like neglect by a parent, substance abuse, lack of emotional ties with the child, abusive use of conflict, etc.
Abusive use of conflict which creates the danger of serious damage to the child’s psychological development can be a basis to place a restriction on the parent’s rights and/or visits with the child.
How do you prove that there is abusive use of conflict by the other parent? You need not establish actual damage to show abusive use of conflict. However, you must show that the danger of such damage exists. Withholding visitation from the other parent without good cause is abusive use of conflict. Efforts to obtain court-ordered restrictions to limit a parent’s time or access to the child, without good cause is also considered abusive use of conflict, whether or not they trigger a legal battle. Using the legal system without good cause to limit the other parent’s time with the child is abusive use of conflict. This includes filing petitions in court without good cause or making false reports to CPS or other agencies. Involving the child in the marital conflict is also abusive use of conflict. These are only some examples of abusive use of conflict and a lot depends on the facts of each case.
The danger of psychological damage to the child does not include the normal distress suffered by a child because of hardships that predictably result from a divorce, like travel or infrequent contact with a parent. A child throwing fits because she was not allowed to have a routine visit with her father, is considered substantial evidence of the danger of psychological damage.
Some other examples of what the court has considered abusive use of conflict by a parent are:
- A parent filing unsuccessful petitions alleging harassment and stalking where she admitted that she was unilaterally withholding visitation from the other parent because of her disagreements with him overfeeding issues
- A parent seeking to get a restraining order that initially suspended the other parent’s visitation with the child and later allowed him only reduced, supervised visitation for many weeks – yet notes from the visitation supervisor revealed nothing that was concerning
- A parent’s refusal to let the other parent know where the child was and withholding her address even though there was no basis or reason for doing so.
How ZafiroLaw Can Help Your Family
If the other parent is withholding visitation without good cause, refusing to provide you the whereabouts of the child, and if that creates the risk of causing a danger of serious damage to your child’s psychological development then you may be able to get restrictions on the other parent’s rights in the parenting plan. We can help you with a parenting plan that provides the best provisions for the best interest of your child. Contact us today to set up your consultation.
