Obstructing a Parent’s Rightful Child Custody
Custodial interference (also called custody interference) refers to the taking or keeping of a child from the custodial parent with the intent to interfere with that parent’s rightful physical custody.
In other words, when a non-custodial parent does not return his or her child to the custodial parent from a scheduled visitation, or when the custodial parent refuses to allow visitation with the non-custodial parent in violation of the court’s order. It can also occur when the parents have joint physical custody – in this case, even though the parent taking the child has physical custody rights to the child, he or she is still interfering with the other parent’s scheduled custodial rights.
Charging a Parent with Custodial Interference
Custodial interference is a crime in most states and can be punishable by jail time. Depending on your state’s laws, different circumstances can bring varying charges and different penalties. For example, some states treat custodial interference as a misdemeanor unless the child was removed out of state. In that case, the charge becomes a felony. Other states have additional penal provisions for taking the child out of the country. In certain situations, custodial interference can escalate to a state or federal charge of parental kidnapping.
Defending Against Charges
Many states also allow certain defenses to custodial interference. Imminent harm, for example, is a commonly accepted defense. In this instance, the parent removing the child claims to have interfered with normal custody rules because he or she fears for the child’s safety. Other defenses can include mutual consent and the belief that, if he or she did not take the child, the other parent would remove the child from the court’s jurisdiction (i.e. out of state or out of the country). Failure to receive court-ordered child support is not usually a valid defense against a custodial interference charge.
Some states also recognize the child’s wishes, typically when the child is at least 14 years of age and may waive the charge of custodial interference if the child states that he or she did not return to the other parent on their own accord.
Still other states will not apply the interference charge if the child is sixteen years of age or older and there are yet other states that will not file charges if the child is returned before the arrest warrant is issued.
65 Comments
I was wondering how long a non custodial parent keep a child due to the living conditions at the custodial parents house with out it being charged as a kidnapping?
Any time the non-custodial parent keeps the child beyond the visitation period provided in the court order, the non-custodial parent is in violation of the court order. The custodial parent can take a copy of the court order to the police and they will enforce the order.
The non-custodial parent is not entitled to keep the child beyond their court ordered visitation period without obtaining an order from the court modifying his or her visitation.
What if there is no custody agreement. can the father still keep the child if he is not the custodial parent?
If there is no custody agreement then there is no official “custodial” parent. If you are the parent with all or the majority of custodial time, then it is best to obtain a court order to “make it official.” Only a court order can legally provide that you have sole physical custody or the majority of custodial time.
No the police will do nothing about it unless the court order says that police can get involved or enforce it. It has to be plainly written out. Most police will tell you “Take it back to court”
What if the custodial parent never comes to get the child/children when they say they will or were on their way. Parenting plan states that childrens daycare is means of exchange unless daycare is not open. The times when she has not picked them up (numerous times, all documented ) the daycare has not been open. I have always been very open with communication when she has not picked them up, many times she never answers her phone/s or responds back.
EXCEPT IN MACON GEORGIA THEY THINK ITS STILL 1973
If a custodial parent denies the non-custodial parent his rightful, court-ordered visitation, what recourse does the non-c parent have? Will law enforcement (police) go with the non-c parent to claim the child for visitation and enforce the order there and at that time? Or will the custodial parent have to be charged and brought to court? This is very urgent for us considering Christmas is around the corner.
The police department can enforce a court custody order. However, in reality, some departments may be hesitant to do so if the order is not specific clear enough.
The non-custodial parent can also “bring an emergency motion” (submit a formal request) in the family law court to have the order enforced. Usually motions filed on an emergency basis are heard by the court the day after they are filed. You may wish to consult with a local family law attorney or at least check the rules in your county for the specific filing procedure.
if custodial parent does not go through with the visitation plan (he is out of state)
is it grounds to lose custody..hawaii..kids in maryland. need to be here 10 days after school out. he is ordered to purchase tickets 60 days prior to then. what if is kate or what if he cant afford it?? is it possible for me to get kids back??
If a non-custodial parent does not exercise his or her visitation, it may be grounds for reducing that parent’s custodial time.
I am filing for a divorce and my sons father want joint physical as well as legal custody of him. We live in two separate cities less than a 100 miles apart from each other. I have agreed for my son to visit his father 3 out of 4 weekends out of the month, as long as he can afford to return him at the end of the visit. I drop my son off, and he is responsible for the return. Point is those 3 out of 4 weekends, a few holidays and a week in the summer does not constitute equal time which equals joint physical custody. Plus I’m the primary provider for all of his expenses. I’m afraid that if I bend to his demands the custody agreement will be null and void for the above mentioned reasons. I also worry that he can take my son whenever he chooses to if I agree to his terms, however he feels that I will do the same if I don’t.
It’s important to know that joint physical custody means that both parents have custodial time, but does not necessarily mean that the custody arrangement is 50/50 (see: types of custody).
I’m currently involved in a custody battle for my 10 yo daughter. Her father refused to return her to me. He drafted the paperwork & had an attorney put his name on the paperwork. He’s a criminal attorney in Michigan & has a hx of drafting paper work then expecting me to sign it without representation. He did this in the past with his current wife. Unfortunately, my attorney did not file a response to his motion of parental interference. I have not seen my daughter since May. Get this, he has a hx of domestic violence towards me & his current wife. Domestic reports are available through Jackson City sheriffs Dept & there are 5 child support cases including mine where he payed substantially less than his actual income & remained in arrearage multiple times. I made sure that River would be my last & only child from him.
I have joint legal custody and the mother nas sole physical custody of your 8 year old daughter. The mother left the state and moved to Texas, taking our daughter and ignoring my visitation schedule. I filed an ex parte stating that she cant leave the state of CA, granted my the judge, and she violated that order. Is this considered to be Custodial Interference?
If a parent moves out of state with a minor child, it can interfere with the other parent’s visitation. However, the real issue here is that the move is in violation of a court order. If you have a court order which provides that mother cannot leave the state of California with the minor child, then you should file a motion to enforce that order and request that you have primary physical custody of your daughter.
Hi,
My ex-husband has joint legal custody but hasn’t exercised his visitation and moved out of state without telling us. He is also in violation of his child support order. He bodly now calls since he moved out of state telling me that he won’t pay but I am in violation if I don’t let him speak with his son twice a day.
In the order, he is supposed to have reasonable access by phone but every morning before I go to work and every evening before we go to bed is excessive. The child is 3 yrs old, and he is trying to control my whereabouts by enforcing that I be home every single day for his call.
Questions:
I will be going to court soon regarding his contempt of no support, can I also ask the judge to remove his joint legal custody right since he hasn’t been active in his life beyond calling him and he just moved out of state without giving us his contact information?
We have joint legal and I have (full physical custody, join legal with breaking authority). Can I get his passport without his Dad’s signature to go on vacation out of the country? The divorce settlement states I have breaking authority under the joint custody right- I don’t know how much power I have.
If you want sole legal custody you will have to make that request to the court. If you are granted sole legal custody you will have the ability to make decisions about your child’s health, education and welfare without having to consult with father. Father’s move out of state may be a factor in the court’s determination to award you sole legal custody, but that fact alone is not determinative.
In this case, the father has sole physical custody, and the mother keeps refusing to bring their son home although it clearly states in the custody decree that she is responsible for transportation both ways. After she refuses, the father has no choice than to go and pick him up, which was all she wanted in the first place. The father is finally fed up and let the mother know that he is going to enforce the decree from here on out. There is no question that she will not heed the warning and attempt to manipulate and control the situation this weekend by refusing to bring him home again. My question is: If the mother lives across the river in another state and he has to get the police involved, is it possible she will be charged with a felony even though from our house to hers it is only 30 miles? And how long should we wait to call the police after he is not returned? Immediately? He’s not scheduled to be back before 8pm on Sunday. What if she just threatens all day that she will not bring him home, trying to intimidate the father and emotionally traumatizing the son? Is that cause for anything in the future, possibly to get her to have supervised visitation?
Mother will most likely not be criminally charged. Your best option is to file a motion in family court and notify the Judge that mother is consistently refusing to comply with the transportation provisions of the court order. It could be grounds for reducing mother’s visitation.
My son is 8 months old..the mother had our son while in jail..she also was doing narcotic pain pills throughout the whole time being pregnant..just now getting out of jail only being able to see her son through glass at visitation expects me to just let her have the baby back in the drug atmosphere..no one has custody of our son..I’m afraid if I give her our son she will not bring him back after all his belongings our with me and the people that’s been with him throughout his whole life..he don’t even know his mom??? She has brought the cops to my house and they won’t do anything for her..so I don’t have to hand our son over to her if the courts are not in it correct?
It is best for you to file a motion with the court as soon as possible requesting an order for sole physical and legal custody.
Does something of this nature apply if your divorce decree states you have “liberal parent time with a minimum of (insert state code) state ordered visitations”? My ex has sole physical custody and I have visitation/parent-time with joint legal custody (I know, pretty much the “system” standard), and the transportation arrangement is that we provide reasonable shared transportation for visitations. My ex has moved to where she lives 120 miles from my residence, and I picked up our daughter for visitation and asked that she meet me half way for the drop off. She refused, so I kept our daughter for a week per it was Christmas holiday and I was scheduled to have her the first half of the holiday period per divorce decree also. She told me later she had contacted the Police and filed a complaint… but I have not heard or seen anything from the Police since. Just curious if “liberal” parent time overrides the interference clause.
A parent interferes with the other parent’s custodial time when that parent impedes on or prevents the other parent from exercising their court ordered visitation. If your ex spouse has moved and the move has caused a change in the visitation or transportation arrangement, the new agreement should be reflected in writing or you should seek a new order from the court.
My son needs to know if he has to let his daughter(she is 8 month old) go with her mother if the mother comes to pick her up for her timeshare when the mother is accompanied by a registered sex offender?? We live in florida and dont know the laws about this.
Your son should seek an order from the court immediately which prohibits any registered sex offender, namely the person in question, from being present during any visitations.
My ex has “temporary custodial” rights to our 22 mo old daughter until his protective order is out of affect come this february. Now no papers have been filed in the terms of a parenting plan. If no papers get signed by the time his protective order twards me is up can i take my child back without facing criminal charges? Or will he still hav custody? Please help someone.
Once the protective order expires you should file a motion in court seeking visitation. Without a court order it will be very difficult for you to exercise visitation over Father’s objection.
my question to you is my brother is a sex offender. he seved his time and paid his debt. he has 50/50 joint coustody withhis ex spouse one child lives with him and the other with mom. now mom want to stop visitation of
child that lives with mom can that happened what can i do to help my brother out?
Your brother’s sex offender status will be a factor the court considers when it determines custody and visitation. The court will also consider the nature of the offense and any rehabilitation efforts your brother has made. It is possible that the court may ordered supervised visitation. Supervised visitation is where a court appointed supervisor or family member must be present during the visits and reports back to the court.
I live in NJ and would like to do humanitarin work with son who is almost 16. Asked X who moved away to another state for letter to get passport and told him about trip openly. He is refusing saying I am making him do it and wont sign. I looked at divorce papers and no mention of what to do if child needs pass port to go abroad. we are definitely coming back. I think I saw that when he is 16 he only needs 1 parent present- but I do not want to do it that way, but will if need be. my son is upset with his absent father . What can I do ( i have tried reasoning with him) to avoid financial and emotional stress? I would be going along with humanitarian group, too. We have NEVER co parented. I parent he sends the required support. thats the way it has been. Please advise.
If you and Father have joint legal custody (legal custody means decision making about the child’s health, safety, welfare and education) you will need his consent to take your son out the country. If Father does not consent you will have to file a motion in the family court in your county seeking permission.
If you have sole legal custody but Father has visitation which will be affected by the trip outside the country, you will also need to obtain his consent or a court order.
If Father does consent to the trip be sure to get his consent in writing!
I’m a father of two girl. I have Joint custody. My ex-wife has Primary custody. Can I file a complaint that charges her with Custodial Interference? I have a court order to have custody 3 day a week and everyother Sunday.Since July I have seen my girls 11 times today is Jan 25
I live in Az and have temp physical custody of our three kids. I have a OP against my wife that states she is to only text me when she needs to communicate with me.. She gets limited visitation by way of curb side pick up and the visitation states that the times are to be strictly followed. She however refuses to show up on time and then just keeps the kids extra to offset the time that she was late… I dont want to make things worse but im not sure if not going to the police for custodial interferance and violating the OP by calling me constantly, will help.. on the other hand i fear not doing so will weaken my case in court.. Im just trying to get suggestions on if I should go to the police and then also file for enforcement.. or would just fileing with the court be just as effective? Also she is not allowed to have any achohol 12hrs prior and during but i found out that she has been. Is there a way to try and prove it or am i powerless if she simply states that she has not been?
If there is no court order or custody agreement in play can you still be charged with custodial interference?
At least not in Arizona… I had to get a court order to have anything dealt with.. The police and courts did not care about anything and stated that neither of us (my self or my wife) had any leagle recourse against each other untill there was a court order in place.
I live in NM, there is no court order in place yet. My ex fiance filed for custody of the child but i have yet to respond so it hasnt gone to court yet. I have the child and she called an officer we have spoken to whom called me and said that he is going to file custodial interference on me.
The best thing i can suggest is to file a response as soon as possible.. technically you both have rights to the child so if you compleatly deny accsess to the child there may be an issue. what I did was agree to meet a chucky cheese for visitation. They put an armband on the child that matches up with you and the child cannot leave unless you are with them. that way she will get to visit and you dont have to worry about her taking off with the child. If she has ever been violent then you can file for an order of protection that will also make it easier for you. Do not include the child on the OP if there has been no violence towards the child though.. that will just look like your abusing the system.. best thing though is to get a lawyer at this point.
I am considering moving out of massachusetts to upstate New York with my daughter who is 16 yrs old. The absent parent her father hasnt had any contact or visitation with daughter due to his visitation taken away 7 yrs ago per order of the court. I am finding it difficult due to the cost of living in Mass to make ends meet.I am considering a Prosperous job offer in NY and have looked into a Reputable school for my daughter to finish her last 2 yrs of highschool and have also found a great college for her to attend after High school..Do I need the absent parents permissin to relocate or do I need to go into the Family Probabte court and get a judges permission? Any help you could pass along would be appreciated.
Thank you for your time, Chris
It depends on what the most recent court order regarding custody and visitation provides. If the last court order provides that you have sole legal and physical custody and that father has no visitation, then you may not need a court order. However, if father has any court ordered visitation you will need to seek an order from the court that modifies the visitation order considering your new location.
My ex wife is refusing now to bring my son half way for my visitation time. Which is in the final decree. Claiming she can’t afford the gas.
What can I do?
What if the child wants to stay where they are by their own choice and has been given permission by the custodial parent to stay where they are (and has proof via a text message/email)? Can the custodial parent still charge the non custodial parent with interference?
yes.. Some states do not care what the childs wishes are. Some consider their wishes depending on their age but what the court says must be followed. If the custodial parent wishes to change things based off of what the child says, then they need to go to court and use that as part of their argument. Keep in mind text, email, and such can be forged. Also kids do not always know what is in their best intrest…
pls help i have a 10 month old son me and my ex have joint custody but when its time for visitation she will not give him to me and she wont give up the car seat what can i do is this aginst the law in arizana
You should bring an action in family court to inform the judge that mother is not complying with the court order. The court may give you more time if it finds that mother is not cooperating and is alienating you from your son.
Hi Jay
If there is an established Court Order for you to visit your child then your x may be in Contemp. She has to abide by a Judge’s order or she can be put in jail or possibly have her custodial rights taken away.I would document the days you didnt get to visit with your child and I would go file a contemp order against her if she doesnt let you see the child on the next scheduled visit. Good Luck to you.
What about a grand-mother who has gaurdianship over a child but makes the mother (whom still has full-custody of the child) believe that she (the grand-mother) has all of the authority over the child, is that custodial interference?
My husband are legally married but reside in separate homes due to physical violence that required surgery to repair a broken bone in my face. We are not legally separated yet, and were each residing with our 13 year old daughter one week at a time. Due to continuing mental and emotional abuse I have told my husband that she will remain with me until he can get his act together, and she can feel safe with him. I only live 5 minutes from him and have not said he can’t meet her somewhere other than his house. Have I broken any laws in Arizona?
You should seek an order from the family law court immediately. You should inform the court about the domestic violence and emotional abuse. Be sure to present copies of your medical records which show your injuries. You should request that the court issue an order that either provides that father has no visitation or has supervised visitation.
I have 3 kids with my ex who lives in AZ. He has not seen the kids since July 08. He has a girlfriend who said she showed our then 2 yr old how to touch himself, falsified charges, threatened to have me put in jail when the father and I were fighting. The father falsified a restraining order and after I was off of probation from falsified charges from the girlfriend, I took the kids and went back home to NM. He was abusive, left kids in dirty diapers till I got there to change them before false charges were done, I had them 75 to 80 percent of the time, he locked them in their rooms, had the bigger twin hit the smaller twin, put them in wrestling moves at age one for punishment, never admits to any wrong doing and has all of the signs of Narcassistic personality disorder. he was abusive to me, and threw me twice, once when he was mad and I was pregnant with a second set of twins and at 5 months pregnant after miscarriage, his step sister tried to punch me and he threw me on the couch instead. He has two older daughters who live in NM and he has nothing to do with them. he is mad because the state made him pay child support so he pays around 700 a month for 4 out of 5 kids. He says he will see them and wont, has no vehicle, lives with the child molester who is bipolar and has another friend who is bipolar and I copied her blogs to show her mental illness is not in control. The father has severe man boobs meaning his weight is severely, severely over weight and so is his girlfriend, making him a walking heart attack. In 2007, he had his mom and step dad take kids for one week and it ended up to be a month. they disconnected their phone, and i cried day in and day out, called cops to do a welfare check and told them to bring me my kids since the father didnt want to take care of them and now that i am back in nm, they are an hr away. i have told them to either be in their life or stay out and seem it is ok just for birthdays or some holidays to come around, but can go on a 3 plus hr drive to see first grandchild. Mental games are always played. I was so distraught over what she said about my son and all that had happened, I had to see a psychiatrist, and the twin that was forced to his the smaller twins had anger bursts and had to have him evaluated, which said due to father’s chaos, put kids behind mentally. They do not like their dad, are mad, and do not want to see him. I have told him I do not want nothing to do with him because it is his mental BS that is nothing to be desired, he refuses to get mental help, loose the worthless people in his life, move back and be in all of his kids lives. I was told that if I do not have a court order and I dont, that I could not keep the kids from him UNLESS I have mental health prof, to back me up on his behavior and I do. He literally got mad at me in real life because he had a dream I killed him. He said his girlfriend is a better person because she fixed her daughter’s rapist breakfast…it was from he was a client that is retarded and she still went around him. There is just so much abuse, neglect, and more than I do not want to communicate with him. It is nothing but a non ending battle and his phone calls to the kids are a minute or less, and he will go without calling for days. The kids do better when there is no communication. I do not teach them to hate their dad, I tell them the truth in the past when they asked about him, but now they do not ask for him and the children are just 5,5, and 4. Oh and he would have them swim for hours in the AZ heat to tire them out so he would not have to deal with them, exposing them to future skin cancer. Am I doing the right thing by telling him to leave us alone? I told him to take me to court that I do not care and I have no worries for I have sole custody of my first son and I do not let the father see him for he is Antisocial personality disorder and in prison.
My estranged wife relocated our two kids, 10 & 9, to AZ from NJ in August of 2009 without my consent or a court order. We met with a court mediator to try and resolve custody/visitation in November. Mediator sent our case before a judge because we could not agree on custody and visitation. We had court on Feb 9th, 2010 and the judge ruled that NJ had no jurisdiction since the children had been away for almost 6 months. I have since filed paperwork to establish a custody/visitation motion in Maricopa County, AZ. My wife has stated that she does not want the cvhildren to visit me this year because she wants them to get used to living in AZ. What are my options at this moment? Can I file for criminal custodial interference when there has been no court order issued yet? Since the children moved to AZ, i have taken up a job in MD. What state would I need to file for Custodial Intereference?
My sister lived in hawaii, i flew her over here to me in Washington because she was being abused by my parents. Now they’re calling it custodial interference which is a felony because i flew her out of state. I thought it wasn’t considered custodial interference if she was in physical danger. Now the police department in hawaii is saying Washington police will arresst me if she isn’t returned. But my parents have already agreed to sign custody over to me. What are my next steps?
You should consult with the child protective services in agency in Washington. (see: Washington Public Departments & Services)
My cousin left the U.S.A. with his child 10 years ago from Arizona in good faith with a notarized agreement between his ex wife and himself allowing father and child to live out of the country for 3 years and renewable every 3 years. Right upon leaving the U.S.A. his ex wife filed malicious charges against him- threatening to take the child out of the country and he lost by default. The court awarded her full custody of child. My cousin is still out of the country with the child and never returned back to Arizona because of those malicious charges. Child in now 15 years old. Divorce decree assigned father as residential parent with joint custody allowing mother to have visitations on weekends. Father has been wanting to return to Arizona with child but he is afraid of the consequences. Mother told his son over the phone just to go back to the States when he is already 18 years old. My cousin is not a U.S. citizen and his ex wife is a U.S. citizen. Will my cousin be jailed if he returns to Arizona? How long will he be in jail? Will he be deported after serving time in jail? What are the chances of father winning this case?
i am the custodial parent of my 6 yr old son his dad gets him everyother wkend but wen he picks him up he spends a cpl hrs with him then leaves our son at his partents and goes over to his girlfriends for the night so i think its pointless for my son to go with him and my son hates goin i was going to not let him take my son on his visitations anymore but i don’t want to get in trouble. is there certain guidelines for visitations like if he’s so many minutes late i don’t have to let him take our son. or is there something else i can do i feel i shouldn’t have to force him to spend time with his son. i don’t know the laws here in nebraska
My son is 6 years old. His paternal step-grandmother has had custody of him since he was 10 months old. She got me to sign a paper giving her legal custody which she told me as temporary custody. Anyway since 2007 I have been going to cour fighting for custody. First I had to have visitations at a supervised visitation center.
Then after I completed that I got every weekend visits. Then we went back to court last year and I got to have him for standard visitation where I get him every other weekend and some holidays. For about 5 visits in Total I have not had transportation to go pick him up. I just got a phone on and told her that my son Bryce (who lives with me) grandmother’s spouse is in the hospital with lung cancer and he was my ride to get my 6 year old Braden. She said that she is stopping all visitations.
Can she stop visitations if I do not have transportation to pick him up? (greene county ohio court has given me visitation rights and i told the judge that I can see if I could get someone to take me to get him and bring him back but my ride is an old individual and now he is in the hospital)
Can she stop the visitations because of this and if I don’t have transportation to get him how do I get to see him? She refuses to bring him to me. And I owe child support for him and they put a block on my license.
More information: The step-grandmother has moved around in the past two years to 4 different places. 2 which have been counties away. She lives in Greene county now which is one county away from Montgomery but has had 3 or 4 different men in my 6 year old’s life. One of those men with which she is living with for the past 6 months+ is her own flesh and blood daughters ex boyfriend whom my 6 year old is old enough to realize that the daughter was with him before. She also has said she is stopping visitations because he is wetting the bed, having trouble in school now, and seeing a psychiatrist because he supposably was in his room trying to tie a rope or something around his neck and was asked how he was going to kill himself when he threatened it to her. Why would you ask a 6 year old that question. She said he isn’t supposed to be around my two older sons 8 and 10 because of their behaviors (they live with their paternal grandfather whom i get along with and is not the same grandfather as my 6 year old) She is making my kids, even my 3 year old who lives with me out to be monsters when they are good kids. What kid doesnt act up or have a rivalry with their siblings? I can’t keep my kids from not knowing there siblings it is wrong. She has made my 6 year old out to believe that she was his mom and his grandfather was his dad since he could talk and there was no mention of me or his real father to him. When we got along prior to her moving again in 2007 I was always to be refered to as a friend when she would bring him to visit even though she told him who his brothers were. And she would bring him to see me or I would take the bus and she would pick me up at the bus stop. Now that I filed for custody/visitation in 2007 she refused to let me see or talk to him and when we went to court she refused to do the transportation with the bus. i’m trying to make an effort here but the bus only goes so far into fairborn. and she wont bring him to the bus stop she says im supposed to have a ride to and from her house which i was till my ride got sick. Now she wants to stop all visits per the doctors/school (supposably that’s their recommendation) and wait a year or two for me to get my visits. I don’t have the money for a lawyer and had drawn up the court documents myself for custody and visitation and a friend’s lawyer helped me get visits but can’t help no more. What can I do to get my visits and get my son back?
My ex and I have been divorced for over 3 years now. He asked for a military transer about 1.5 years ago so that his new wife could get a job in another city. His new residence is 3.5 hours away. He is entitled to visit his children every other week and only sees them once every other month or so. I had met him half way several times and EVERY time he was 30 min to 1 hr. late with no call (no, he does not have a cell). Transporation is not listed in the divorce decree and I have tried to express that I too have a life and think it is very inconsiderate of him. He laughs and says I have to leagally meet him half way because he is military…and it was a military move. Is this true? Mind you…he put in for the transfer…not thinking about how this would affect HIS children… only thinking about his new family…
What about millions of Fathers who are MIA because of the family court system? Political figures often discuss the welfare of our children but never discuss the problem regarding our family court system, unfair visitation laws and how those laws effective fathers who want to be part of their children’s lives.
There is a Child Support Enforcement agency in every state but not a Visitation/Parenting Time Enforcement Agency. Why?? This needs to be an issue addressed at the federal level and not decided by the states because the system at the state level is not working. Most states call the time Fathers spend with their children as “Visitation” instead of calling it what it is “Parenting time”. Parenting time is a time to be a parent to your child. Visitation is what the family court force on fathers, as they want fathers to become an occasional visitor. Family courts wants fathers to settle for becoming a ‘Disney Dad,’ one whose role is nothing more than outings to theme parks once or twice a month. Why can’t the family courts grant time to fathers in a frequency, duration, and type reasonably calculated to promote a strong and loving relationship between the child and the parent? The standard visitation which is four days a month is not enough time to be an effective parent to your child. The family courts very, very rarely enforce visitation. Here, the prejudice is against fathers and their parental rights. The congress refuses to acknowledge the injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of denying the love and companionship between a father and their child. Divorce from a spouse is not a divorce from your children, nor should custody decisions be used as a punishment. Joint custody can benefit the children, the divorced parents, and society in general by having both parents involved in the child’s upbringing.
Fathers are systematically eliminated from their children’s lives. Father’s parental rights are systematically terminated by family court judges who have a deep seated gender bias against fathers. Termination of parental rights is both total and irrevocable. Termination of parental rights is the family law equivalent of the death penalty in a criminal case. The primary casualties in our Domestic Relations courts are our children.
Courts are supposed to approach cases of child custody, support payments, and visitation rights in a gender-neutral posture. It sounds fair, and it is fair. But it is a myth. Judges are not enforcing these gender laws fairly, and few seem to care. Unless you have been forcefully removed from the everyday upbringing of your child by the Court, you can not fathom the emotional distress. To discriminate against fathers because of their gender in this day and age is no different than telling a person to go to the back of the bus because of their skin color. With sole or primary custody going to the mother in roughly 90% of cases, claiming custody is not based on gender would be like claiming hiring is not based on race if 90% of a particular race, though equally qualified, was unable to obtain employment. This was missing from the Obama’s Father’s day speech. What about millions of Fathers who are MIA because of the family court system?
It’s not just about Father’s fighting for parenting time/custody. It’s about mothers too who have wrongly had their kids taken from them from manipulative grandparents. not saying all grandparents are manipulative but my sons step grandmother is. So I am fighting for the same injustice as those fathers you talk about and mothers.
My brother has full custody of his 7 year old daughter. The mother lost rights because she did not want to take a Physicological examination for the courts. Its been 5 years since the mother had any contact, up until 2 months ago. My brother allowed her to visit with the daughter. The last time my brother heard or seen his daughter was 2/7/2010. He went to the police and spoke with his attorneys as well as his daughter attorneys and they told him that this is considered Custodial interference, the judge issued a RIT, and the mother has until 4/6, 2010, to return the daughter. How is that possible?? Is this how this situation is to be handled? His daughter needs to be in school, not to mention the mother is mentally unstable and she does not have a place to live. What should we do at this point?? please help,
Renea E.
My husband is in the Military and the judge stated that if we went overseas we would be reliabe for 100% cost of the airfare for my son to see his biological dad. Is it the law of Texas that we are reuired to pay roundtrip if I follow my husband in the military?
I was wondering if the custodial parent puts a lot of restrictions on the non custodial parent and its stressing the non custodial parent. can that non custodial parent file a suit against the custodial parent for causing emotional distress? Will it affect the court oder that exist? Will that be a consideration for the judge to award physical custody to the non custodial parent?
I have joint custody with child mother, but i am primary custodial parent. i had a dispute with my two teenager and the 11yrs old son did not like me when i blew my head gasket, but nothing was said toward him. i had threat to kick 17yr but when turn 18yr of age. so now the 11yr old wants to live with his mother. and that we are not a happy family. that what my 11yrs old had told grandparents and his mother. so the mother insistence on keeping him even thought i am primary custodian.
I live in VA. My husband moved our son to Louisiana without my knowledge. I was at work and when I got home all my husband’s thing were gone and when I went to my son’s room, his stuff was gone too. I called the school and the teacher said his dad picked him up at 10:30 that morning. We are still married but had problems in our marriage. My husband is a lieutenant in the US Army and accepted orders to work in Louisiana until Sept. He wanted me and the other children, not his biologically, to move with him but I did not think it was in their best interest to do so especially in the middle of the school year. Is this legal? I have filed for custody. What are my chances of getting sole physical custody seeing that VA has been our son’s home since he was born, he just turned 7. He is doing good in school. He has 3 brothers here and all of my husband’s family is here. they have no family in Louisiana except my mother in law who is an alcoholic. My husband brought her with them to care for our son. He also does not have a permanent job