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The Hidden Cost of Flawed Custody Evaluations

When custody evaluations are flawed, the consequences extend far beyond legal outcomes. Children are placed with abusive parents, protective parents lose relationships with their children, and psychological harm multiplies.

The Stakes

Custody evaluations carry enormous weight in family court. Judges defer to evaluator recommendations a significant majority of the time. When evaluations are wrong, children suffer.

• Children placed in custody of narcissistic or abusive parents
• Protective parents lose time with children they've been primary caregivers for
• Parental alienation progresses unchecked
• Children exposed to ongoing psychological abuse
• Trauma from separation from healthy attachment figures

How Evaluations Go Wrong

Methodological flaws, bias, and inadequate training create evaluations that look professional but reach unreliable conclusions.

• Evaluators miss covert narcissistic abuse patterns
• Inadequate time and depth of assessment
• Failure to use validated psychological testing
• Confirmation bias favoring first impressions
• Misinterpretation of trauma responses as instability
• Lack of training in personality disorders
• Financial incentives and repeat business bias

Long-Term Impact on Children

Flawed evaluations set children on trajectories that affect their entire development and future relationships.

• Learned acceptance of manipulative relationships as normal
• Development of own narcissistic or codependent patterns
• Complex trauma from ongoing exposure to abuse
• Loss of healthy parental relationship
• Difficulty trusting professionals and systems
• Psychological symptoms requiring long-term treatment