Methods of Enforcing Your Visitation Rights

In most child custody arrangements, one parent is typically granted primary custody of the children while the other has visitation rights or limited custody. However, it’s not out of the ordinary for the custodial parent to abuse the visitation rights of the other parent. They might refuse to allow their children to spend time with the other parent, purposefully schedule children’s activities or appointments to conflict with visitation time or constantly be late to visitations.

There are some ways that you as a parent with visitation rights can enforce those rights, should it come down to that. These methods include:

• Talking with the parent. This should always be your first option, if you are on speaking terms with the other parent. If the violations have been minor and you are fine speaking to each other, you might be able to change schedules yourselves to make sure that you are able to work it out.
• File a motion in court. If you continue to have problems, you can file a court motion to enforce the visitation plan. The court in response may clarify the visitation plan or even increase your visitation rights, enforce more visits and decrease the amount of spousal support you have to pay. In rare cases where there is a significant history of interference with visitation and a clear malicious intent, courts may choose to change primary custody.

The only time there is an exception to visitation rules is when one parent believes that the child would be endangered by returning him or her to the other parent. However, the offending parent must be able to defend that choice in court.

If you believe your visitation rights are being violated, never stop child support payments or seek some form of retribution. Instead, work with the experienced child custody attorneys of Jakubowski, Robertson, Maffei, Goldsmith & Tartaglia, LLP.