Badmouthing of one party by the other party often is an unfortunate by-product of divorce. When child custody is involved, however, the denigration of one parent by the other parent may have devastating legal and psychological consequences.

A parent may even deliberately strive to alienate the child from the other parent and undermine their relationship. “Parental alienation” is the manipulation of a child into having unwarranted fear, hostility, or dislike towards a parent. This article will address: (1) general factors considered in custody cases; (2) the elements of parental alienation; (3) legal consequences of parental alienation; and (4) the deleterious impact of parental alienation on children.

Custody Overview

The prevailing consideration in custody cases is the best interests of the child. McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York, Dom. Rel. §240 (2010); Eschbach v. Eschbach, 56 N.Y.2d 167 (1982); Merlis v. Merlis, 253 A.D.2d 799 (2d Dept. 1998). In assessing the best interests of the child, the court examines the totality of the circumstances. Carrasquillo v. Cora, 60 A.D.3d 852 (2d Dept. 2009); Zafran v. Zafran, 306 A.D.2d 468 (2d Dept. 2003). Among the circumstances that are scrutinized include: the quality of the home environment, the guidance each parent provides for the child, the ability of each parent to provide for the child's emotional and intellectual development, the ability of each parent to financially provide for the child, the relative fitness of each parent, the child's primary caretaker, and any existing custodial arrangement. Melissa C.D. v. Rene I.D., J.R., 117 A.D.3d 407 (1st Dept. 2014); Palmer-Cardona v. Cardona, 63 A.D.3d 1162 (2d Dept. 2009); Esposito v. Shannon, 32 A.D.3d 471 (2d Dept. 2006).