Parental gatekeeping can often work to effectively protect children from the abusive harm and the neglect of the other parent, and in those cases it is well-warranted. Sometimes, though, restrictive and abusive parental gatekeeping occurs based on ill will and nothing more.

Assuming you’re in a situation that involves unreasonable and unwarranted parental gatekeeping tactics, you should be prepared to deal with three most likely ways negative parental gatekeeping could have the greatest influence over your child custody case:

  • Restricted time and access to your children. This can happen both before and during your court process. Your ex-spouse will be armed with a number of excuses, from chronic schedule conflicts to supposed problems with the children themselves, such as “The kids can’t handle spending the night away from home,” or “You don’t know how to do (fill in the blank) for our child.”
  • False allegations. If and when your child custody case winds up in family court, both Family Code 3040 and the California public policy mandate for frequent and regular contact and shared parenting will be upheld. An ill-motivated gatekeeper will then also grasp at straws to keep you away from the children. That’s when he will raise malicious and false allegations of child abuse, neglect, abduction, domestic violence, substance abuse, and so on.
  • Court order violations. Anyone who would engage in reckless and abusive parental gatekeeping won’t likely be one to respect or follow any family court decision. For some ex-husbands, court orders will carry no weight. They will ignore them and refuse to cooperate. They will instead make things as difficult as possible for the other parent. They may even resort to tactics that will alienate your children in order to keep them from you, no matter the damage.

If you fear your ex-husband will interfere with your share of the parenting, it’s time to prepare your fight against him. Contact the Law Offices of Paul H. Nathan today to learn more about how we can help you and protect you against the influence of negative parental gatekeeping tactics in your child custody case.

Paul Nathan
Connect with me
Marin County California Divorce, Child Support and Custody Lawyer Representing Women Exclusively