What to Do if an Ex is Preventing You From Visiting Your Children

While there are plenty of divorced parents around the United States that manage to successfully co-parent with each other, there are also plenty of examples of parents who simply cannot get along and constantly find themselves in custody and visitation battles.

If you are the visiting parent, you have a court-appointed right to see your children at your specific visitation dates and times. It is illegal for the custodial parent to withhold visitation or to ignore the visitation schedule contained in your custody agreement.

Here’s some information you should know about your visitation rights.

Occasional withholding of visitation

If the custodial parent occasionally withholds visitation or ignores the visitation schedule, the missed visitation times will be required to be made up. The visiting parent should be sure to keep track of all the dates on which visitation was denied.

If the custodial parent refuses to schedule make-up days, the visiting parent can take legal measures to ensure they comply. However, the visiting parent should never attempt to withhold child support as “punishment” for withheld visitation, and should never take the children without permission, as this could be considered kidnapping. Speak to your attorney and enforce the visitation order through the proper channels.

Frequent withholding of visitation

If withholding of your visitation starts to become a constant issue, you can enforce your visitation rights in court, or even seek to have the custody order changed. You would be able to argue the other parent is actively attempting to hurt your relationship with the children, which can be damaging to the child.

For more information about the steps to take to uphold your visitation rights, contact an experienced divorce lawyer at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates.