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Children have the greatest chance for success and happiness when their parents stay committed to effective co-parenting. However, emotions can run high in any custody dispute, especially during a separation or divorce. Parents may experience anger or resentment towards one another, making communication and co-parenting challenging or nearly impossible.
While this breakdown in communication and cooperation can happen in any custody dispute, complicating custody factors in Hackensack can make reaching an amicable resolution more difficult. If you struggle with a high-conflict custody case, the experienced child custody attorneys at O’Cathain Law Group Family Law Department can help. We can help protect your parental rights so you can focus on your child’s best interests.
Child custody cases in Hackensack can become complicated due to several factors, and you may or may not have control over them. Understanding potential complications and your role in them can help you seek the best solution for your children.
Domestic violence may be the most significant complicating factor. Many people assume that as long as the violence does not include child abuse, it should not impact a custody decision. However, that is not true. When there is evidence of domestic violence, the courts may impose strict measures, such as supervised parenting time or denying custody to the abusive parent to protect both the child and the other parent. The courts consider the nature, severity, and direct effects of the abuse on the child, ensuring that any custody or parenting time arrangements prioritize the child’s physical and emotional health.
Parental alienation is another factor often linked to a history of spousal abuse. It happens when one parent tries to turn the child against the other parent.
Like domestic violence, a history of addiction or substance abuse can also complicate custody decisions. Substances can dramatically alter a person’s ability to parent and make them a hazard to children through behaviors like drinking and driving. These issues impact custody and even lead to supervised parenting time.
One important complicating factor is mental illness. Mental illness is obviously not a person’s fault, but it must be managed. Failing to do so can complicate custody cases, especially if the court has concerns about a parent’s stability and ability to provide a safe environment for their child.
Not every family looks the same, and sometimes custody disputes are between people other than parents. When extended family members raise children, they may want rights to them. The involvement of grandparents or other relatives can complicate custody arrangements, especially if they seek visitation rights or custody.
Complicating factors are not always based on trauma. Some can be due to logistics, like a parent who wants to relocate for a better job opportunity. Others can be due to finances, such as when a dramatic difference in resources makes one home better able to accommodate the children’s needs.
A high-conflict custody dispute arises when there is ongoing tension between the parents or other interested parties. These disputes are typically intense, and the parents often exhibit hostility toward one another, making communication difficult and decisions hard to reach. The inability to cooperate can create stress for both parents and children.
Sometimes, high-conflict custody disputes result from parents being immature, petty, or putting their own needs above their children’s. However, not every high-conflict dispute is avoidable, and parents should not sacrifice their child’s potential health, welfare, or safety to simplify a custody dispute.
Mediation can be a great way to reduce conflict in custody disputes, but it is not appropriate in every scenario. For example, mediation can provide opportunities for an abusive partner to continue to exercise inappropriate power and control, unless the parties are put on equal ground, and the mediator, or a party’s attorneys, ensures that no imbalance of power occurs. An attorney in Hackensack from O’Cathain Law Group Family Law Department can help you protect yourself, even when you are in a complicated custody dispute.
Some complicating custody factors in Hackensack require parents or other interested parties to take a rigid position to ensure a child’s best interests. At O’Cathain Law Group Family Law Department, our family law lawyers can advise you when to compromise and when to fight. Schedule a consultation to learn more.