It’s an unfortunate truth that some parents are not able to amicably co-parent their child(ren) during or after a divorce. If your ex is the custodial parent as determined by your legally binding child custody agreement, and he or she will not allow you to see your child(ren), don’t lose hope. The experienced child custody lawyers at the law firm of Clagett Law in Elizabethtown can help.
What to Do When Visitation Is Withheld on Occasion
For many divorced parents in Elizabethtown, custodial parents only withhold visitations on occasion. These occasional missed visitations usually have a reasonable explanation, such as a change in schedule for the custodial parent.
However, if the custodial parent withholds visitation, even if only on occasion, that missed visitation time must be rescheduled. If you are unable to work out a make-up time with your ex, Clagett Law recommends you seek their help in order to find a solution. Oftentimes a letter from an experienced child custody lawyer stating that you are willing to go to court to enforce your visitation rights will do the trick, and a resolution can be reached.
What to Do When Visitation Is Withheld Consistently
On the other end of the spectrum, some custodial parents consistently refuse visitation to their co-parent or ex-spouse. When this type of violation occurs, it is important to involve the child custody lawyers at Clagett Law. This persistent violation of a custody agreement cannot be tolerated.
While child custody agreements can be enforced by the police, child custody lawyers, Clagett Law recommend filing a petition to protect your visitation rights through Elizabethtown court instead. By avoiding police involvement and taking this first course of action, the potential for hostility between parents can be greatly reduced.
While you may believe that filing legal paperwork is not difficult, it can be tricky to know exactly what to do, and this isn’t a time you want to get anything wrong. Choose the law firm of Clagett Law as your child custody lawyers and know that your parental visitation rights will be protected.
What You Can’t Do When Visitation is Withheld
While it may be very tempting to retaliate against an ex who is withholding visitation, there are things you cannot do for retribution.
- If you are legally obligated to provide child support, you cannot withhold that financial support because your visitation rights were violated. According to the letter of the law, visitation and child support are two separate issues.
- You cannot participate in self-help. Self-help is kidnapping. You cannot take your child by force or without the permission of the custodial parent.
- You cannot threaten violence on your ex. Regardless of divorce or child custody violations, it is against the law to threaten someone with violence. In fact, if you do this, your ex could request a restraining order against you, and your chances of seeing your child(ren) would greatly decline.
But there’s good news! There are ways you can fight custody violation matters. First, consider talking to your ex or co-parent in a calm, safe place. It may be easily settled with a simple conversation.
If you find that talking doesn’t help, the next thing you should do is contact the child custody lawyers of Clagett Law in Elizabethtown. With their knowledge and expertise, you can rest assured that you’ll be in good hands and your custody agreement will be on its way to being restored.
Choose Clagett Law As Your Elizabethtown Child Custody Lawyers
If you have further questions, or you’d like to make an appointment to sit down with one of our child custody lawyers, contact the law firm of Clagett Law today.
You can reach our Elizabethtown office by calling (270) 900-0533.
