Reasonble phone contact

[skipper-wes]

Dear Socrateaser,
This case is under the jurisdiction of the pierce county superior court,WA.
The father resides in WA. The mother and child reside in MT. The mother (my wife) is the primary custodial parent.
The father has been denying phone acces when the child visits him, in the summer and also weekend visits when he travels to MT.
The original parenting plan neglected to include provisions for phone contact, probably because at the time of it's adoption by the court, the child was 2 years old and this was overlooked. The child is now 6 1/2 years old.  Many letters have gone back and forth between the attorneys
to no avail, he continues to deny phone access. His last visit to MT, he did not return my phone call to speak with the child and did not allow the child to call me.
My questions are these:  is it necessary for phone access to be stipulated in the parenting plan for it to be allowed?  will he get only a slap on the wrist for this or is this more serious?  I know that what he is doing is a criminal offense in MT, but I'm not sure if it must appear in writing in the plan before action can be taken.  
thanks for your help.
Skipper-wes

[socrateaser]

>My questions are these:  is it necessary for phone access to
>be stipulated in the parenting plan for it to be allowed?

Not to be "allowed," but yes to be mandatory.

>will he get only a slap on the wrist for this or is this more
>serious?

He can't be charged with contempt unless he's violating the court order, and if it's not ordered then he can't violate it. You need to clarify the order to mandate telephone contact at specific times and days.

[skipper-wes]

Thank you for the clarification. I shall pursue issue in the current motion to clarify.
Wes