Divorce is often marked by high emotions and many times the parents have reached a point where they no longer like one another.  Maybe one parent blames the other parent for the divorce, maybe the emotions of love have turned bitter, or maybe it's the human flaws of our former partner are too familiar; whatever the source, divorce is never easy and it's all too tempting to say negative things about a former spouse.

When children are involved, divorce is even harder.  And can be really tempting or easy to say negative things about your former spouse in front of your children, but saying those things is almost never good for your divorce case. Courts call this parental alienation.  In other words one parent is alienating or turning the kids against the other parent.  Cases of parental alienation go from the mild unintentional bad mouthing to the severe case where the parent forces the child to make false abuse accusations against the other.

Courts take a dim view of any form a parental alienation. If a court believes you're turning your children against your former spouse, it's never good for your case. The courts can begin to limit your custody, visitation, decision making and other parental rights if the court believes you are alienating your former spouse. Even if you pull one over on the courts and get by with this alienation, you still have deprived your child of a parent a grand parent and family member.

In the mist of a divorce it's all too easy to be negative and say mean things and turn your children against your former spouse. Taking the high road is hard, but in the end it's best for your case and your kids.