Parenting disagreements aren’t uncommon when you have a child custody order governing what happens with the children. One thing that must never happen is one parent keeping the children from the other parent. The only exception to this is if there is documented abuse going on, and that’s when the court needs to become involved in the situation immediately.
Unfortunately, some parents try to use withholding visits with the children to enforce other points. For example, some individuals might keep the kids from a parent if that parent is behind on child support. This is illegal, it harms the children and it shouldn’t ever be done.
Keep track of missed visits
When your ex isn’t allowing you to see your children in accordance with the parenting time schedule, you need to keep clear records of what’s going on. While it might not be a huge deal if you only miss one visit, there comes a time when these records might be important because you’ll have to turn to the courts to have a method of enforcement for these visits.
Sometimes, there are valid reasons for having to change up the parenting time schedule. Be sure to note the reason why each visit was denied so that you can remember if you’re asked. The other parent might be acting petty, but the court might not consider missed visits a big deal if it is because the child was too ill to go with you or because of a school activity.
Making up missed visits
There is usually an opportunity to make up missed visits, so be sure to consider this if your ex has to cancel the visits for any reason. You should think about this when you’re trying to decide what you’re going to do about the missed visits. There might not be much the court will do if there is a plan in place for you to make up the visits.
Enforcing a parenting time schedule
In order to enforce your parenting time, there has to be a schedule or terms that govern what you should receive. If you have this and aren’t getting the time you should, you need to contact the court as soon as you realize that there is an ongoing problem. In some cases, there are time limits for how far back the court will go to enforce missed visits.
Make sure that you have clear terms for the time you’ll have with your children. Outlining these in the parenting plan can help you in the future if there is any question about this aspect of sharing children.