What if My Ex-Spouse Violates Our Visitation Schedule?

Family Law Lawyer

Divorce is never something a couple sets out to do. When it happens, it is usually stressful. One of the elements of divorce that contributes to this is splitting up time with children. Coming up with an agreeable timesharing schedule takes great thought and compromise. Once complete, it gives you a framework for how to co-parent and work your new life around when your kids are with you. It can be frustrating when one parent isn’t sticking to the agreement. When an ex violates the child visitation schedule repeatedly, and without respect for you or your children, there are a few things you can do.

Call the Police

If your divorce was considered high-conflict, it might not be a surprise that life after the decree doesn’t get easier. When one parent is angry or bitter, it can easily spill out into childcare and visitation. Some violations of the visitation schedule warrant a call to the police. The worst offense is withholding the children from the parent who is supposed to have them. For example, if you are scheduled to pick up the kids at 5:00 on a Friday evening and no one is at the meeting place, you may start to get worried. If you cannot track them down or if the other parent flat out refuses to make them available, this crosses a legal order for visitation time. If you have a valid visitation agreement in the state the infraction is occurring, you should call the police to help enforce the order.

Rework the Schedule

Whether the violation is one-time or ongoing, you may have to revisit the schedule. Is the other parent simply not able to stick to it due to work commitments? If your ex is always calling at the last minute about running late or bringing the kids home early because of a work conflict, it may be time to go back to the drawing table and revisit the agreement.

Go Back to Court

Sometimes a rewrite of the visitation agreement is too difficult for people to do on their own. If the physical custody time is changing drastically from what was first adopted by the court, you may have to go back through the legal process. Child support may be affected if it is calculated off of physical time with your children.

Getting used to life as a single parent can be a hard adjustment to make. When the other parent does not adhere to the terms of your visitation agreement, it can be even worse. If you have any questions about how your ex is behaving, get a family law lawyer in Rockville, MD who is qualified to handle such matters.

Thanks to the Law Office of Daniel J. Wright for their insight into family law and violations to visitation schedules.