Order to Show Cause

[gemini3]

I am the NCP, I have joint legal custody and my wife has sole physical custody of our two daughters, all reside in VA.  

Custody agreement states that I have visitation on all but the first weekend of every month, and "reasonable visitation" in addition to that.

For four months now I have requested time with my children after school or on holiday's when they are not is school, and all requests have been denied.  I have requested time 3 days to a week in advance, and have even offered to rearrange my work schedule in order to accomodate her choice of date/time in order to fit her schedule (she does not work).  Still, all requests have been denied.

I do not have an attorney.  I am considering filing an order to show cause for contempt of court ordered visitation, but I am not clear on how this works and what I will need in order to file.  

Questions:

1.  Can I file without an attorney?
2.  What sort of supporting documentation will I need?
3.  What is the usual outcome of an order to show cause for refusing visitation?

Thank you for your help.

[socrateaser]

>Questions:
>
>1.  Can I file without an attorney?

Yes.

>2.  What sort of supporting documentation will I need?

You need proof beyond reasonable doubt that the other parent has willfully and with conscious disregard, violated a valid and enforceable court order.

As a practical matter, this means an objective third party witness (or a video/audio recording, made with the other parent's knowledge) showing that you were at the time and place specified in the order to exercise visitation and you were refused.

You cannot get this for the "reasonable visitation" portion of the order, because the definition of what is reasonable is impossible to ascertain with certainty. You can only get a contempt for refusals of the time expressly ordered in the order.

So, you will need to file a motion for clarification with the court, on grounds that "reasonable" visitation is too vague to be in the child(ren)'s best interests, because the custodial parent routinely refuses any visitation other than the express visitation found in the court orders.

Then, when you have your visitation nailed down, if the other parent violates the order and you have the required proof, you can get a contempt.

Otherwise you're wasting your time.

>3.  What is the usual outcome of an order to show cause for
>refusing visitation?

Stern warning and make up time for you if you prove your case. Hard to prove beyond reasonable doubt unless a disinterested witness is present when the contempt takes place and will testify thereto. But, not impossible.

If you prove the contempt again after a prior finding of contempt, thereby demonstrating that the other parent is continuing to violate the order, then the judge may get pissed and give mom some community service time, or even order a new custody hearing. The latter outcome is rare, but it happens occasionally.