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Sophisticated Manipulators

By Ira Daniel Turkat

Custody battles are stressful to clients, and few litigators escape the psychological daggers of a tough, demanding fight. Some clients make the combat more tolerable, while others seem destined to escalate hostilities. To date, there is no established taxonomy for identifying custody litigant 'types.' Yet, every matrimonial lawyer with custody battle experience has stories to tell about particular clients from difficult cases.

Sometimes, the battle scars from custody litigation are captured in part by experts who testify in these proceedings. Terms such as Parental Alienation Syndrome, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Divorce-Related Malicious Parent Syndrome are tossed about, reflecting aspects of the vicious pathology that emerges in select cases. These psychological descriptors resonate from a time-limited window peering into a family set afire. Yet, within the heat of battle stands a subset of custody litigants who are adept at engaging in highly destructive behavior while often avoiding the negative consequences that one would expect to be reflected in custody evaluator recommendations and judicial rulings. These are individuals who cause significant damage but somehow escape the punishment they would seem to deserve. They are sophisticated manipulators.

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