FAMILY LAW ARTICLES

Does your ex-spouse disrespect your parenting time?

As a parent, you face many difficulties that demand your immediate attention, even when life seems to be going well. Unfortunately, many divorced parents sharing custody of their children with an ex-spouse must also deal with unfair or illegal interference with their time with their child. While not all divorced parents seize on child custody as a way to punish their former partner, many do, unfortunately.

If you find yourself dealing with frustrating behavior from your child’s other parent, it is wise to examine whether they are violating the law. Interference with your parenting time is forbidden in most parenting plans, and courts expect parents to obey custody orders rather than take them as strong suggestions.

Direct interference steals your time

If your ex’s behavior takes away from the time that you spend with your children according to your custody order, it is likely that this qualifies as direct interference. Any time that the other parent’s actions or negligence prevent you from spending all of your court-ordered time with your child, direct interference is possible.

If the offending parent continues this behavior, they may face several types of punishment, ranging from loss of custody privileges to potentially facing criminal charges. Of course, it is not possible to obey a custody order perfectly all the time, but you should not tolerate repeated violations.

Indirect interference undermines your relationship

Even if one parent does not prevent the other from enjoying court ordered custody time, they may still act in ways that hurt the other parent’s relationship with their child. Indirect interference occurs when one parent obstructs the other parent’s communication with their child or portrays the other parent to the child in a negative light.

The law does not permit one parent to keep the other parent from speaking to the child on the phone or communicating with them through other means. Indirect interference may also occur if one parent speaks negatively about the other while the child is present. These and many other behaviors may violate a parenting agreement and may also result in significant punishment from the courts, including loss of parenting privileges.

Protect your relationship with your child today

For most parents, the best way to keep their time with their child secure in the face of bad behavior from another parent is to use the strength of the law. A strong legal strategy can help you assess the seriousness of another parent’s violations of your rights and recommend ways tokeep your rights and priorities protected.