LEGAL BLOGS…ASK A QUESTION…

Samantha’s Question: If there is no court order in place, can one parent stop the other one from seeing the child (my daughter’s father is refusing to allow me to contact her. I have been her primary care giver since birth, we have a parenting plan which he has gone against, but it was not lodged with the court)?

Brette’s Answer: If there is no order of custody, each parent has an equal right to the child. You need to file an emergency petition for custody it sounds like.

Katie’s Question: My ex husband and I have 50/50 joint custody, but my kids primary residence is his home. He is mad at me because I wont get intimate with him, so now he won’t let me see my kids unless he is there. Their grandmother watches them during the day. If I go pick them up at there grandmas, can he turn me in for kidnapping?

Brette’s Answer: If he is interfering with your right to visitation, then you should file a violation in court. Doing this is called custodial interference and can be the grounds for a change in custody. If you pick them from his mother’s house, he cannot say you kidnapped them if you are exercising your court ordered visitation rights. I think you need to go back to court to get this straightened out.

Melissa’s Question: Our divorce decree states that my ex gets the kids for 2 weeks out of every summer, but I have always been lenient since he is in the military and does not see them any other time during the rest of the year. This year I let them go for 4 weeks, and when I tried to ask him where we should meet to pick them up (he lives 5 states away) he said he was not going to let them come home for 3 more weeks! What can I do to get them back?

Brette’s Answer: You can file a violation with the court that ordered the visitation. You could also contact the police or perhaps his commanding officer and show them the order which he has clearly violated.

Cindy’s Question: I have sole custody of our 17 year old son. My ex of 3 years has visitation and is letting our son run around all hours of the night with no supervision. My son went to visit his dad four months ago, and refuses to come back home. What can I do, and how can I keep my son at my house. My ex lives only 2 miles away.

Brette’s Answer: At age 17 there is not an awful lot you can do. Even if you go to court for violating the order and the judge orders your ex to bring him back, making your son stay is difficult. You can try going back to court if you want to try something.

Will my custody papers be enforced if he threatens to keep our son?

Theresa’s Question: My son is 3 years old, and I have sole physical custody. His father takes him for 4 weeks each summer and lives 5 states away. He is threatening not to give him back. Will my divorce decree and custody papers be enforced in another state.

Brette’s Answer: Yes they will be enforced. Based on that threat, you can seek to have his visitation reduced.

When Your Ex Doesn’t Comply With the Visitation Schedule

Melissa’s Question: Our divorce decree states that my ex gets the kids for 2 weeks out of every summer, but I have always been lenient since he is in the military and does not see them any other time during the rest of the year. This year I let them go for 4 weeks, and when I tried to ask him where we should meet to pick them up (he lives 5 states away) he said he was not going to let them come home for 3 more weeks! What can I do to get them back?

Brette’s Answer: You can file a violation with the court that ordered the visitation. You could also contact the police or perhaps his commanding officer and show them the order which he has clearly violated.