status quo

[wldcherry1]

Paul and Jane were divorced in TX 2000.  Jane lives in TX.  Paul lives in Europe.  Paul flies back and forth and picks up the children at the Dallas airport.  Currently children are not old enough to fly alone overseas.

The divorce decree states that Paul must drop off and pick up and Jane's place of residence.  Jane has never enforced this.

Paul is planning on moving back to the states in 2007.  By then children will be old enough to fly alone.

1.  If Paul requests that children fly alone for his parental time and Jane refuses stating the divorce decree does Paul have a leg to stand on as Jane has never enforced that portion in the decree.

2.  Should Paul wait until if and when Jane refuses parental time based on letting the children fly alone to go to court as soon as he returns to the states to change parental time schedule?

3.  If Paul must go to court to change schedule will he have a leg to stand on based on Jane's past actions?

as always thanks

[socrateaser]

>1.  If Paul requests that children fly alone for his parental
>time and Jane refuses stating the divorce decree does Paul
>have a leg to stand on as Jane has never enforced that portion
>in the decree.

No. If Paul wants the kids to fly alone, without a fight, then he needs to get jane to agree to a stipulated order, or ask the court to make a decision.

Airlines generally treat children 13 and older as adults for enforcement of flight regulations. When the children are 13, then arguing to the court that they should be permitted to fly alone becomes easeir -- and, much easier if you can arrange non-stop flights or itineraries with no change of plane during transit.

This is an international flight that you're talking about, and that implies different government regs depending upon any flight plan. I don't think you're gonna get very far with an argument here. A judge will err on the side of caution.

>
>2.  Should Paul wait until if and when Jane refuses parental
>time based on letting the children fly alone to go to court as
>soon as he returns to the states to change parental time
>schedule?

As I just mentioned, domestic flight travel and children who are 13 and up make your argument much stronger. I suspect that you may never have make the argument if you can arrange non-stop transport.

>
>3.  If Paul must go to court to change schedule will he have a
>leg to stand on based on Jane's past actions?

This argument has no legs. Jane's past actions do not rise to contempt, and just because Jane has waived certain past rights, doesn't mean that she loses them.