Child Custody Lie Detector (Polygraph) Tests

When a couple is litigating over the custody of a child, some people think that “all is fair” when trying to get custody of that child. That includes lying to the judge about their own fitness as a parent, or about the fitness of the opposing parent, and even creating false allegations of abuse. Nothing seems “off the table” for some people in this situation.

Fortunately, we have lie detector (polygraph) tests to figure out who is being truthful.

There are three common assertions used by Petitioners seeking to gain custody of a child. These may be stand-alone tactics, or may be used in combination.

  • Establishing their own parental fitness
  • Exposing unfitness of the opposing parent
  • Exposing child abuse by the opposing parent

1. PETITIONER PROVING HIS/HER OWN FITNESS AS A PARENT

Proving one’s own parental fitness may include documentation of a safe and stable home environment, steady employment and income, acting in the best interest of the child, and demonstrating a lack of questionable habits, such as use of illegal drugs, excessive alcohol consumption, abuse of prescription drugs, and engaging in domestic violence. This is made more difficult when the opposing parent has accused the petitioner of being an unfit parent, and if these allegations are untrue, polygraph testing can be extremely helpful to refute such allegations.

2. ESTABLISHING THAT THE OPPOSING PARENT IS UNFIT TO HAVE CUSTODY

If the opposing party is unfit, for any reason, being able to document this can be of great benefit to the Petitioner in custody matters. Some adverse issues that are sometimes presented include involvement in questionable habits, such as use of illegal drugs, excessive alcohol consumption, abuse of prescription drugs, exposing the child to domestic violence, or to material or experiences that are not age-appropriate. In some cases, it can be helpful to prove that the opposing parent does not provide a safe and stable home environment, does not maintain steady employment and income, or acts against the best interest of the child.

3. PROVING THE OPPOSING PARTY  HAS BEEN ENGAGED IN CHILD ABUSE

Sometimes, a parent or guardian may take more extreme measures to gain an advantage in a custody hearing. This tactic requires making an allegation of child abuse committed by the opposing party. This abuse can fall into one or more of three categories:  Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, and Neglect.

Physical Abuse

Child physical abuse occurs when a parent or caretaker inflicts or allows someone to inflict serious physical injury other than by accidental means. This includes, but is not limited to, shaking, beating, biting, kicking, punching, and burning. It is also considered abuse if a parent creates a condition or allows the condition to be created, that leads to a child becoming the victim of serious physical injury.

Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse includes incest, rape, obscene sexual performance, fondling a child’s genitals, intercourse, sodomy, and any other contact such as exposing a child to sexual activity, or commercial sexual exploitation such as prostitution of a minor or production of pornographic materials involving a minor.

Neglect

Neglect is the failure of a parent or caretaker to provide needed food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision to the degree that the child’s health, safety, and well-being are threatened with harm. Five sub-types of neglect are: care neglect, medical neglect, educational neglect, supervisory neglect, and environmental neglect

The Petitioner will not often have direct evidence of such abuse. These types of abuse are typically conveyed to the Petitioner/Parent by the child in question. In most cases, a polygraph on these issues will be to establish that the child disclosed this information to the Petitioner.

However, care must be taken not to encourage the child to make an untrue statement, or an embellishment of the facts, to create a stronger case. This usually backfires. The reporting parent/guardian may be asked to take a polygraph to determine whether any coercion or “coaching” had taken place. A typical polygraph question in this regard might be “Did you tell that child to make any statements about (name) that you knew were not true?”

In rare cases, the child themselves (under some conditions) might be asked to take a polygraph to prove allegations made against one of the parents, although this situation is rare, and the child can not be younger than 12 years old (the minimum age varies by testing location).

ADMISSIBILITY

The rules for evidence admissibility in Family Courts is similar to Civil Courts, which only requires a preponderance of the evidence. This burden is much less stringent than the standards used for evidence in criminal trials, so judges have a great deal of latitude to accept polygraph evidence in a Family Court matter.

This page addresses the following issues:

  • Child Custody
  • Child Custody Dispute
  • Child Custody Lie Detector
  • Child Custody Polygraph
  • Custody Lie Detector
  • Custody Polygraph
  • Lie Detector for Child Custody
  • Polygraph for Child Custody

GLOBAL POLYGRAPH NETWORK®

Established in 1987, Global Polygraph Network® is the world’s largest and most trusted polygraph (lie detector) company with services available at hundreds of locations by highly-trained experts worldwide. Avoid “discount” polygraph frauds and “over the phone” testing scams. We only provide real polygraphs by real examiners. Trust our A+ BBB rating, up-front pricing, and written guarantee.