Refusing to Send Your Children to Court-Ordered Visitation
You may wonder if you are ever able to refuse to send your children to court-ordered visitation. Perhaps things have been going smoothly for quite some time but then you discover that sending your children could lead to a potentially dangerous situation, so you want to see if it’s legal to avoid this. Here are some other examples of things that might happen:
- One parent realizes that their child is spending more time with the new girlfriend or boyfriend than their parent when the child goes to their house.
- Children become extremely distressed for visits and cry that they don’t want to go to the other parent’s house.
- There is a fear of children’s safety when the children go to the other parent’s home, because of past domestic violence or drug use.
The courts see it this way: Both parents deserve to spend time with their children. This is why courts tend to favor situations where both parents are involved in the child’s life. However, we know that this is not always possible, especially when there are safety issues or the children are old enough to decide whether or not they want to be at the other parent’s house.
If you do sincerely believe that your children are in danger, you have the legal right to withhold visitation time. This is especially true when the risk is imminent, such as in cases where physical and sexual abuse might be happening. The same can be said for living situations that are dangerous, such as situations where a parent is living with a convicted felon or lives in a dangerous home.
However, with court-ordered visitation in place, your ex might try to take you for contempt of court and so you will have to be prepared to make your case and see if your concerns outweigh this fact.
When it comes to the safety of your child, this always comes first. At The Law Office of Soheila Azizi & Associates, we want to talk to you as soon as possible in regards to your case and how you can work on protecting your children. Call us today for more.