Interference with Custody or Visitation
Divorce is an emotional and complicated experience for everyone — including any children involved. When deciding major issues such as child custody and child support the court always puts the best interests of the child first, with the hopes that the parents can do the same.
Unfortunately, that is often not the case and many arguments and court appearances happen because parents do not agree on custody arrangements or one or both parents violate the conditions of the agreement.
A few of the most common occurrences are discussed in this article. If you are experiencing difficulties with your current custody and visitation arrangements, consult with a family law attorney about your rights and options.
Noncustodial Parent Feels Time with Child is Too Limited
If you have expressed to your ex-spouse that you want to have more time with your child and they are uncooperative, you can petition the court for a modification of your visitation schedule. If both parents live in close proximity to each other, the parents can both agree, and the child will not be harmed by the change, the court may be more apt to grant the modification.
One Spouse Abuses the Visitation Schedule
If the non-custodial parent is frequently late for pick up or fails to follow the scheduled visitation, first try to discuss the issue with the tardy parent to see why this is constantly happening. If there is a valid reason you may need to modify the schedule to be more accommodating to the other spouse.
If there is no satisfactory reason for the lateness and you and your ex-spouse are unable to come to an agreement on a viable solution, a judge can intervene and enforce or make a change to the visitation order. Come to court prepared with a record of all the times and dates your ex-spouse shows up late or fails to show up at all. Be able to discuss how this is affecting the child rather than being just an inconvenience to you.
Ex-spouse Argues About Every Parenting Decision
It may be tempting to cut your ex-spouse out of major decisions concerning your child because of their constant disagreeing with you at every chance; however, if you have joint custody, your ex legally needs to be a part of the decision-making process. If you do not consult your ex on a major issue with the child, you could be in violation of the custody agreement. If that happens and your ex brings the issue to court, you may lose custody altogether of the child.
Try to understand why your ex would take the opposite opinion in all situations regarding the child and try to resolve the issues without the assistance of the court.
Contact an Attorney
If you have tried unsuccessfully to get your ex to cooperate with visitation and custody issues and are not sure of where to turn, contact a family law attorney. They can answer your questions and offer possible remedies to help make the custody situation more bearable for you, your ex-spouse, and most importantly, your child.