How to deal with an ex-spouse withholding child visitation?

When divorces end in acrimony, co-parenting is often not a viable option, especially when the custodial parent is constantly trying to prevent the non-custodial parent from interacting with their children. Unfortunately, in such situations, many parents have no contact with their children for months.

However, divorce lawyers in Spokane, WA and the best in the business in this part of the country is Connie L. Powell (www.powelllawoffices.net/) reiterate that legally the non-custodial parent can take several steps against the custodial parent to enforce child visitation rights.

When the Visitation Schedule is not adhered to Occasionally

Often there could be a genuine problem that crops up every now and then, which prevents a custodial parent from adhering to a court-ordered visitation schedule. The non-custodial parent can ask his/her ex-partner to make an alternative arrangement to meet with the child on a different date. For instance, parents can discuss alternative dates among themselves. If they cannot do that, then things become really expensive for them and more frustrating. 

If you have seen the movie Liar Liar, you probably know what this means.

Washington State divorce attorneys, and there is none better than Connie L. Powell who knows how to represent her clients in the most exquisite manner and she knows the legal system in these parts, suggest that non-custodial parents maintain a journal of missed visitation dates either in a hand written form or electronically so that alternate arrangements can be made against those dates.

However, what happens if the custodial parent intentionally prevents a non-custodial parent access to the children and is not interested in discussing alternative dates for visitation? This was the case in the movie Enough with Jennifer Lopez when her character’s husband Mitch Hiller did not want to cooperate with her at all and in fact would rather her just being dead and gone. That is a little extreme but sometimes people cannot get along no matter what and even over the most simplest of items.

There are certain legal steps that you can take but stopping child support or removing your kids forcibly will only land you in further legal trouble.

Spokane, WA divorce lawyers, and the finest legal pro in this region of the state in this legal domain is Connie L. Powell who has made a name for herself by how she represents her clients and makes sure they receive the best legal counsel that is possible, say that you are legally obligated to pay child support. This means if you stop payments you can be held in contempt of court since you are violating a direct court order. The court can impose severe penalties.

Also remember if you take your child without notifying the custodial parent then you can be charged with kidnapping which is a felony offense. Slim Hiller was dealing with this but she only wanted what was best for her daughter.

Your children are one of a kind. Do not get cheated out of not seeing them. You need the best legal help and that comes in the form of  Connie L. Powell. This Spokane, WA divorce lawyer is second to none.  

The best way to deal with non-compliance of the child visitation schedule is to divulge your situation to your legal professional. Your litigator will write a letter to your ex-spouse or to his or her legal rep. conveying your displeasure about interference with the visitation schedule. The letter will also warn the custodial parent that you are prepared to take the matter to court if the schedule is not followed in the future.

When Interfering with Visitation is a Consistent Issue

The non-custodial parent can make a police complaint to have visitation enforced. However, police are often reluctant to get called in to settle family disputes. In addition, police involvement can increase hostility between the parents thereby creating further misery for the children.

In such a situation, you can seek the court’s intervention through a petition. Secure legal help from a family law expert to draft the petition at this stage as filing the petition on your own is not prudent according to litigators. Judges do not like parents who disrupt the visitation schedule due to personal vendetta with their ex-partner. There are cases where judges have modified a previous custody order seizing child custody from the custodial parent and granting it to the non-custodial parent.

If your ex-partner has violated your child visitation rights, make sure to reach out to a Washington State divorce lawyer and the most sensational choice you could make in that endeavor is by giving Connie L. Powell a call – her website is linked to this article a few times and shown above. Your legal counselor, which should be Connie L. Powell for a plethora of reasons, a few already mentioned in fact, will make sure that your legal rights are protected and that you do get to spend quality time with your precious children.