In September, Zolman Law Firm, Warns Of The Danger Of Parental Gatekeeping
St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) September 23, 2014 -- The Zolman Firm is continuing its mission to educate parents in order to help them to better understand their rights and legal obligations in regards to child custody, St. Louis child support, and visitation rights.
Following a divorce or separation, many parents are unaware that practices such as "parental gatekeeping," whereby one parent purposefully restricts communication and contact with the child from the parent, are illegal.
"More often, we see cases where one of the parents has decided that the other parent's actions no longer warrant them having contact with their child. Most often this is when the other parent has 'moved on' with their life and started dating someone else," explains Carla Zolman, Attorney at Law at the Zolman Law Firm.
"Parental gatekeeping intentionally harms the parent-child relationship, and therefore can be considered emotionally and psychologically damaging to the child and detrimental to the child's best interest," explains Zolman. This may result in loss of custody by the gatekeeper, or alienating parent. "We get a good number of these cases where contact with the child is abruptly stopped. Usually it takes court intervention to acquire a Parenting Plan that is enforceable," says Zolman.
However, there may be instances in which parental gatekeeping is not only justified, but a necessity. "For instance, you find out that someone is molesting your child. Obviously you need to do everything in your power to protect your child, and in fact your child could be taken out of your custody if the state believes that you did not properly protect the child," Zolman states. However, these cases are relatively rare.
Though nearly all states have strict laws regarding parents who are found to have physically or psychologically abused their children, few have substantial laws regarding parental gatekeeping. If clients believe they or their children are victims of parental gatekeeping, they are urged to keep a written record of events as well as contact a family law attorney immediately.
Since establishment in 1996, the Zolman Law Firm has been working with the people in St. Louis, Missouri and the surrounding areas, concentrating in St. Louis divorce cases, family law, and child support. Their team of experienced attorneys is committed to offering quality legal services. To contact Zolman Law Firm, visit http://familylawstlouis.com
James McMinn, Leap Clixx, http://leapclixx.com, +1 (314) 641-1000, [email protected]
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