Contempt - What to Do if You Are Denied Parenting Time?

Transcript:

I wanna talk to you about contempt actions. What do you do if you're denied of your parenting time? So for instance, maybe you have visits every other weekend and a night mid-week and you're not allowed to have your mid-week visit or maybe you're being denied parenting time on certain holidays. In these situations you can file contempt action. This is an action to seek enforcement of a court order and it lets the judge know that the other parent's not following the parenting plan.

What can the judge do?

So, what can a judge do when you file contempt? First, it's important for the judge to find the person in contempt. This is where the judge says that the other parent didn't follow the parenting time order. Second, you can ask for make-up parenting time and receive all of the days you missed at a time of your choosing. Third, you can also ask for reimbursement of attorney's fees. You wouldn't have to be in court if it wasn't for the other parent. So judges in contempt actions often award attorney's fees if they find the parent in contempt. Fourth, the judge can also use contempt to modify a parenting plan. So, it's important to file contempt to let the court know that there may be some non-compliance with the court order by the other parent.

What evidence do you need?

So, what evidence do you need? First, one of the most important pieces of evidence is a calendar or journal. People usually don't file contempt over just one missed night. Usually it's the result of a repeated pattern and using a journal can help you keep track of the specific parenting time missed over a period of time and it can help refresh your memory in court. This is why journals or calendars are important. Another important piece of evidence is text messages. You wanna show that you were contacting the other parent setting up parenting time and show that you've texted them at the parenting time exchange. You wanna show text message evidence around the time of the missed parenting time. And last you should take a picture to show you were at the parenting time exchange at the day and time in question to show the court that you were there and you were in fact denied parenting time.

So, if you are being denied parenting time, it's important to get help and if you have questions, give me a call. I handle these kinds of cases all the time. It's frustrating to not be receiving the parenting time you should and filing contempt is a simple way to get everything working again. [music]