Denied Visitation - OH

[pburke2011]

I have been denied now for the 3 time my court ordered visitation and was curious to see if anyone else has had experience with bringing a custodial parent to court for contempt?

Thanks

[gemini3]

Lots of people here have experience with denied visitation.  What do you need to know?

[pburke2011]

I was curious as to the results of actually taking the custodial parent to court. I've got a very specific visitation schedule that has been in place for the past 6 years. One of the things that really compounds my situation is the fact that I live in NC and my son lives in OH. She has really lost her mind over the past year and denied me this past Christmas visit and this summer. Her beef was with the fact that I was behind on child support. I am caught up and paid in full but dont believe the child support issue was reason enough to deny me the visits. Not only did she deny the visits but she has been turning my son against me and not allow him to talk to me over the phone either. I can tell/see the difference in the conversations I did have with him that he's developed a little attitude towards me. It's very frustrating and very upsetting. My financial situation is not the greatest in the world due to some bad investments in the past so I really dont have the money to just throw away at an attorney and court costs if the court isn't going to do anything. I also have all the proof in the world from saved emails from her and copies of messages (mean and vulger) from my SON'S Facebook and HIS cell phone that she sent to me and without a care in the world admits what's she's been telling my son about our situation. My goal is to get a conviction for contempt of court so it can never or should never happen again! Just dont want to waste money on attorney fees if the court is just going to tell her to "not do it again"!

Make sense?

[gemini3]

A conviction for contempt of court doesn't mean anything will happen to her.  In most cases she'll get a slap on the wrist and be told not to do it anymore.  You can also ask for additional parenting time to make up for what you missed due to her refusals.  You can also ask for specific sanctions should the denials continue - such as having to pay for your attorney fees should she be found in contempt in the future.

If she continues to deny visitation, after several trips to court, you might have a chance at getting primary custody.  But nothing is set in stone, and it all depends on the judge and the specifics to your situation.  The thing is, for family court to actually do anything, you have to move all your pawns to the right places.  That usually means documenting everything, and several trips to court so that the judge sees the history in the file.

I know you don't want to waste money, but the longer you do nothing the more empowered she will feel.  If you have a specific CO and you have documentation of the denial, you really don't need an attorney. 

Is phone communication covered in your CO?  If not, ask for it while you're there.  If there's nothing in there about bad-mouthing, ask for that as well.

[MixedBag]

When parenting time is denied, and your court order is CLEAR, then yes, I recommend filing a request to the court (Petition/motion) asking that the other parent be held in contempt, and that you and your child be allowed make up time for the time denied.

if she denied Christmas and it was clearly yours -- then ask for that holiday to be made up (like 3 Christmas' in a row).

Now....is your order REALLY clear?  I mean REALLY clear on all aspects....day, time, and transportation???

[shellcode]

I'm going thru what you going thru as well.If you have all the proof,just go to court and modify for custody.

[tigger]

Which state has jurisdiction?  NC or OH?

[hogtyed]

You should bring a witness to where you are supposed to pick up your child. Document every missed time. Then, file a motion to show cause.

You also need to send her a letter via certified mail stating:
_______________________________________________

Dear XXXXXX:

I was at _____ at hour______ for the court ordered visitation of our child(ren), ______.
You failed to produce our child(ren). I would like to schedule an alternate time to make
up the missed visitation. How does ______ sound? Please let me know if this works
for you, otherwise we can work out an alternate time.

I will be at _____ at ______ time for my regularly scheduled visit with our child. Please
be there with them.

Sincerely,

XXXXX

cc: Court File, your lawyer, etc.

________________________________________________
Make sure a letter gets to your file. Send a letter like this EVERY time she misses the visitation. Then after about three times, file your order to show cause, and ask for make up time with your child. With this kind of documentation, the courts should grant you your time. And if she keeps it up, then they will get her for contempt of court.

Goodluck

hogtyed