How to Respond if Your Ex Denies Visitation
One of the more frustrating aspects of divorce is how disagreements with your ex continue long after you receive a divorce decree. Although you have a valid parenting plan, for some reason your ex is unable to follow it. Despite phone calls, emails, and texts, your ex-spouse finds reasons not to make the children available to see you.
Denying a parent court-ordered time with their children is a violation of the court order, and parents have potentially powerful remedies. Here’s what to do to protect yourself.
Hold Onto All Communications
Often, the other parent has some excuse for why you can’t see your children. Maybe they are sick, or some event came up suddenly. Whatever the reason, you receive a last-minute email or text from your ex which disrupts your plans.
Preserve all communications. Your lawyer wants to read everything. Often, we can catch a parent in a lie, which will be important when bringing this denial of visitation to the judge’s attention.
Document That You Were Ready to Take Possession of Your Children
The other parent can always claim they didn’t have the children ready to come visit you because you weren’t available. It is critical to make sure you document that you were willing and able to take possession of your children.
The parenting plan should identify how you handle drop-offs. Often, one parent drives to the other parent’s house, if they live close together, or they meet at a neutral location, like a school or playground.
If your drop-off location is a nearby business, then stop in and buy something. Hold onto the receipt, which shows you were at the location on the day and time.
Hire a Lawyer
A parent cannot unilaterally decide whether your children visit you or not. They need to follow the plan adopted by the court. We can bring a denial of visitation case to the attention of the court, who might remedy the violation:
- Award you additional parenting time with your children. For example, you could get more weekends or a longer stretch during the summer.
- Modify custody and potentially give you more timesharing for the other parent’s serious and ongoing violations.
- Hold the other parent in contempt of court.
The remedy will depend on the seriousness of the violation. If your ex is a repeat violator, then modifying custody is on the table. By contrast, if you miss only one or two visits, then a judge is likely to award make-up visitation.
Let us review the remedies to seek from the court. It is important to bring all violations, past and present, to the judge’s attention. Other considerations include whether your ex is trying to alienate you from the children.
Contact Our Office for Help Enforcing a Court Order
Hamilton O’Neill understands the importance of the parent-child bond, and we help our clients keep that bond strong. If you are struggling to enforce visitation, call our office to schedule a private consultation with a Miami family court orders enforcement lawyer.