What if your ex refuses to grant parenting time?

There are many Las Vegas divorce cases in which one or both spouses fails to comply with some provision of the divorce order. Often, these failures are relatively minor and inconsequential, such as the refusal to hand over a personal belonging or a single, accidental missed payment. But what happens if one spouse willingly refuses to comply with an important aspect of the divorce decree, such as child support or child custody?

If your ex fails to make his or her child support payments, you can usually seek the assistance of the state or county child support agency which will essentially force your ex to pay what he or she owes. But if your ex fails to comply with your child custody and visitation order, however, there probably will not be such readily available help. But this does not mean that all hope is lost – it only means that you will have to initiate the process of compelling your spouse to give you the visitation time to which you are entitled.

The first step in this process is ensuring that you are complying with every detail of the visitation order. Send your spouse a written document informing him or her that you will be doing so, and save any response that you may receive.

The second step is to simply follow your visitation order, even if your spouse has stated that he or she does not plan on complying. Arrive to pick your children up at the time and location specified in the court order or in your previously agreed-upon parenting plan. If possible, bring a friend who can serve as a witness that you were in compliance with the plan.

If your spouse continues to block your parenting time, it may be time to file a motion, presenting the evidence that you were in full compliance and your spouse was not.

Source: Columbus Dispatch, “Strict adherence to visitation order essential,” Jeffrey A. and Andrew Grossman, Oct. 7, 2012