New States Laws in the Southwest May Change How Child Custody Is Determined

Family courts often make child custody decisions based on what is in the best interests of the child (ren). However, this has always been an ambiguous standard at best. One of the conflicts is whether it is better to separate a child from a parent if there is evidence that the parent may be a danger to the child or if it would be better for a child to maintain a relationship with both parents even if one or both parents are potentially dangerous.   

In 1994, then-Senator Joe Biden authored the federal Violence Against Women Act, which requires, in part, that judges deciding custody first consider risks to the child’s safety. However, the vast majority of child custody cases are at the state level. Since 1994, only two states have adopted similar laws and only very recently. Colorado passed the first state law in the country in May 2023. Utah is only the second state to pass a law that puts child safety as the first priority of custody and it only passed the bill in 2024.  

Reunification therapy has been promoted as a means of bonding parents who had been accused of allegedly false accusations of parental alienation, child abuse and brainwashing a child against the other parent. However, the concept of parental alienation has been hotly contested. A child’s life may be at risk if the court makes the wrong decision.  

Under Utah’s new law, courts can only require treatments that are proven to be effective and prohibits therapies that separate children from a parent whom they have bonded with provided that the parent doesn’t pose a threat to the child. The law requires expert witnesses to be qualified and credentialed in work with abuse victims.  

Does a Child’s Best Interests Include the Safety of the Child?

The purpose of the child best interest standard is to put the needs of the child over the desires of the parents. There has been much discussion about parents’ rights, but the rights of the parents should always be subservient to what the child needs. The child’s best interests must always prevail over the rights of a parent. Parental alienation is a distortion of the child’s best interest standard. It seeks to reunite the child with a potentially dangerous parent even if it puts the child in danger. A child’s safety must come before a father or a mother’s rights as a parent.  

It could be said that it is in a child’s best interests to maintain a relationship with both the child’s parents. If a child is lead to believe that his or her father abused them, when the abuse isn’t true at all, it would not only damage a child’s relationship with the father but also the child’s psyche. Abuse has significant scars on a person’s emotional state and personality and a false belief of abuse may cause harm where there isn’t any.  

Utah now requires that a court determine if an abuse accusation is credible before ordering parental alienation therapy. Any experts must actually have qualifications and experience in working with abuse victims. Evidence of parental alienation should be clear and convincing before the child’s safety is potentially put a risk. Anything less would put a parent’s interests over that of the child’s.  

Do I Need a Lawyer for My Family Law Issue?

If you have difficulty seeing your child as the holidays approach, you should contact a family lawyer today. A skilled family lawyer can answer your questions, provide guidance on your case, and represent your best interests in court.