Texas law prohibits interference by another relating to a valid Texas Possession Order. This means that it’s both criminally and legally punishable for another to violate a court order that they have a duty to follow.
The term “parental alienation” may be a valid ground for the modification of a custody order when clear and convincing evidence is found that another parent or person subject to that custody order is intentionally acting to interfere with the custody, causing the child to no longer wish to permit any meaningful access, due to the calculated efforts to prevent the parent-child relationship from occurring.
Parental alienation may cause a child to resent the other parent, oftentimes because of influence justifying why the parents no longer function as a family unit, or as a married couple. Sometimes, the child is told how bad the other parent was to them, with statements made of betrayal or violence. Oftentimes, a licensed professional counselor will assist in these cases in determining the reason why the child is alienated from the parent. This can be a long process, depending on the level of damage done by the other parent or family member over a period of time.
The court will sometimes appoint an Amicus Attorney to investigate these matters in the best interest of the child and provide assistance to the court in determining how to resolve the case. It can happen that the only way a parent may maintain the parent-child relationship, when there is substantial alienation by the custodial parent that will not reform, is by petitioning the court to modify the court order for custody for the parent being alienated.
For more information, please call The Barrera Law Firm at 956-428-2822, or reach us online, for a free consultation with an attorney.