Child Custody & Parenting, Torree J. Breen, Divorce and Family Law

Parenting Time Violations

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What to do if your parenting time is violated by your ex?

The Role of Friend of the Court

Do you find that you are having a difficult time getting your ex to cooperate with your parenting time as ordered by the Court?  If your ex does not cooperate with you so that you are regularly engaging in parenting time as scheduled by the Court or refuses to cooperate to help schedule makeup parenting time, you need to go to the Friend of the Court and file parenting time violations against your ex.  The Friend of the Court cannot do anything to help you if you have not filed a detailed written complaint against your ex for violating your parenting time.

Once the Friend of the Court receives a written complaint, it may issue a makeup parenting time schedule, commence civil contempt proceedings against the offending party, file a motion with the Court for a modification of the parenting time to ensure parenting time, schedule a mediation, or schedule a joint meeting.  The Friend of the Court will do what it can to assist you with your problems.

If the offending party is determined to have acted in bad faith in denying the parenting time, the Court may assess monetary sanctions against each violation.  However, the Friend of the Court may decline to respond if the filing party has filed two or more parenting time violations that were found to be unwarranted, costs were assessed against the filing party, and the costs were not paid.  The Friend of the Court also does not have to respond to complaints that were filed over 56 days after the parenting time violation occurred.

If the matter in wish you are complaining is not specifically addressed by the child custody and parenting time order, the Friend of the Court is not required to respond to the complaint either.  You will be required file a motion to modify the custody order if your order does not specifically address the problem you are facing.

Parenting Time and Child Support

Your ex cannot refuse parenting time to you either if you are in arrears with your child support.  You also cannot stop paying the child support if your ex is refusing to allow your parenting time as scheduled.  Your best recourse is to go back to Court.