What to Do If Your Ex Doesn’t Follow Your Custody Order
For recently divorced parents, sticking to a new custody and visitation order can be a little difficult if you’re not familiar with your new schedule. With a legal/court-enforced child custody order, both parents are expected to abide by the agreement that’s put in place.
But what happens when one parent consistently doesn’t follow through with the order? Here are options you can consider to enforce a child custody agreement.
Negotiate With Your Ex
If you’re interested in taking a subtle approach to get your ex to follow your custody agreement, you could try talking to them. If your ex has a legitimate reason for missing their scheduled visits or doesn’t show up on time, open the floor for a discussion about why.
Reasons like a change in work schedule, relocation, commute time, and more can affect your visitation schedule and if your ex shows up when they’re supposed to.
Go to Counseling
Maybe your ex doesn’t have any other reason to not abide by the custody agreement other than miscommunication and disagreements. Before you take your case to court, you can try to go to counseling to hash out your differences and come to an agreement for the future.
Keep A Record of Visitation Violations
If negotiating and counseling don’t work for you, keep a record of child custody and visitation violations made by your ex. Judges take violations of custody agreements very seriously and are only concerned with your child’s best interests.
Here are examples of violations you can include in a written document:
- Dates and times your ex missed.
- Records of text messages and call logs.
- Any time your ex interfered with your visitation schedule.
- Not following through with your child’s school schedule.
- Not following through with your child’s medical visits.
There are more instances that qualify as violations of a court-ordered custody agreement that you can further discuss with your child custody attorney.
Call A Rockville, Maryland Child Custody Attorney for Help
It can be emotionally painful for your child to experience inconsistent parenting by either parent, but taking the time and steps necessary to do what is best for your child is important. Our attorneys at Fait & DiLima, LLP know how crucial it is that parents abide by their custody agreements. We’re here to help you get results and accountability in your child custody case.
Call our team today at (301) 251-0100 to schedule your consultation.
