Emotions can run high during separation and divorce, and some parents may direct their anger at each other by trashing the rules of their child custody arrangements.
Do you know what amounts to a violation of a custody agreement? Do you know what to do if your co-parent refuses to follow the court’s orders? Here are some of the most common problems between co-parents:
Disregarding the other parent’s visitation rights
One of the parents may disregard the visitation rights by bringing the kids back later than they should or deliberately setting up activities or appointments that conflict with the arranged visitation. While occasionally schedule conflicts may happen, consistent disregard for visitation rights can be grounds for reviewing and changing a custody ruling.
Talking ill of the other parent
Generally, family courts do not approve of one parent attempting to estrange children from the other parent. If your ex-spouse is constantly portraying you in a bad light to the children, you may want to seek the court’s intercession on the matter. While it is tempting to badmouth your ex-spouse back, it is important to avoid this as much as you can. Always keep in mind that your actions need to be above reproach if you expect the court to rein in your ex.
Putting your child in unreasonable danger
During divorce proceedings, the court always considers the kids’ best interests when ruling on custody. However, things can change. Your formerly sober ex-spouse can develop a drinking or drug problem, for example, that puts your children in danger. That’s a good reason to ask for custody modifications. So are things like refusing to obtain medical care for your child’s health condition, not following a doctor-prescribed diet and so on.
A court will consider changing custody and visitation agreements if one of the parents has severely violated the original orders or there’s been a significant change in circumstances. An experienced family law attorney can help you argue your case before the court in the best interests of your children.
