How to Respond When a Parent Violates a Parenting Plan
In California, child custody orders are called parenting plans. These plans specify who can make legal decisions regarding the child and how much time the child spends with each parent. Whether you ended up with a parenting plan after divorce or were never married to your child’s parent, dealing with a parent who continually violates the order is never a positive experience. Learn more about what steps you can take to enforce a parenting plan and when the courts need to get involved.
Ensure You Understand Exactly What Your Parenting Plan Allows
Negotiating and filing a parenting plan is emotional, and it’s common for parents to misremember what made it into the final order. If you believe the other parent has violated the order, the first step is to review your paperwork carefully. For example, if a parent brings the child back late, you may think they are in violation. However, the parenting plan may have a clause allowing a 30-minute grace period.
The legal language in the parenting order is specific, and every word counts. If you’re unsure how to interpret a particular section or whether the other parent may be ignoring the order, an attorney can help you better determine what’s going on and whether it’s cause for concern.
Attempt to Resolve the Issue With the Other Parent
It’s always a good idea to attempt to resolve the issue with the other parent through direct communication before involving the court system. In fact, when judges have parents coming to the court for minor problems, they may see it as a high-conflict situation and issue a stern warning to the parties about the importance of coparenting. Showing that you’ve already made good-faith efforts to cooperate with your ex can support your case if you need to go to court.
Any communication about parenting plan violations should be done in writing. This ensures you have a paper trail of your efforts and your ex’s responses, whether that’s an unfollowed promise to do better or a flagrant disregard for the judge’s order.
Contact the Police
Parenting plans are court orders and can be legally enforced. While it’s true that police officers often don’t want to get involved in these types of cases and may refuse to force your ex to comply, it’s still important to contact the police when a violation occurs so that there is a record of it and official documentation.
Keep in mind that these steps are for serious violations, such as repeatedly denying parenting time or failing to return the children after a scheduled visit. Violations don’t always have to be related to physical time, however. If a parent consistently withholds information or makes unilateral decisions about the children when joint legal custody is in place, this also may require legal action.
File a Contempt of Court Motion
If talking with the other parent doesn’t resolve the situation, you may need to get the courts involved. Before proceeding with this option, it’s essential to talk with a family law attorney to ensure that the issue is severe enough to take before a judge and that you understand how the process will work. In most cases, the violation needs to be a repeated issue and negatively affect the child in some way. For example, if a parent constantly brings the child back several hours late on a school night, it could impact their bedtime routine and cause behavioral and academic issues in school.
Filing a contempt of court motion means you’re formally asking for the court to intervene by holding the violating parent accountable. You will need to have evidence to show why the other parent should be found in contempt, and this is where your communication attempts and other documentation come into play. If the judge agrees and finds the other parent in contempt, they generally start by giving the parent a certain amount of time to comply. If they still disobey the order, they can be fined or even serve time in jail.
Petition for a Modification to the Parenting Plan
Sometimes, a parent is violating the court order because it no longer fits the current circumstances. While the courts give some leeway for parents to make changes to the parenting plan if they both agree, it’s always best to have any modifications made official through a change in the parenting plan itself. To modify a parenting plan, the parents need to be in agreement, or one parent can petition the court for a modification based on the best interests of the child. The petitioning parent will need to show grounds for the change and how it will benefit the child’s physical or emotional well-being.
Request Supervised Visitation
Asking the courts to grant supervised visitation only with the other parent is a serious move, but it’s one that is sometimes necessary. This option is generally reserved for when there are concerns about the child’s safety when they are with the other parent, such as if there are issues with substance abuse or violence. Supervised visitation can be ordered on a temporary or long-term basis. Parental visits must take place at an allowed location with someone else present. While these visits sometimes happen at professional locations, such as a designated center, it’s also possible for a grandparent or other third party to be present.
Navigating a situation where one parent continually refuses to follow the parenting plan can be frustrating and stressful. Call Baron Family Law, PC, at 916-694-1164 to talk about your situation and which of the above steps may be helpful.
