Until the court order regarding custody
or visitation is made, both parents have equal rights with regard to their
children. One of the first things to be resolved in the dissolution of the
marriage is the custody and/or visitation arrangements pending the final divorce
hearing. It may be necessary to obtain a temporary order regarding custody and
visitation.
Once the court order is entered, you
may take legal steps to enforce the visitation privileges awarded. To do so, you
must file a petition for contempt requesting that the custodial parent be held
in contempt of court for not allowing visitation with the child/children as
ordered. If the custodial parent is found in contempt, then he or she may be
ordered to abide by the court’s order and allow the visitation. In an
aggravated situation, the court could punish the custodial parent for contempt
of court by requiring payment of a fine or possible incarceration. In order for
a custodial parent to be found in contempt, the non-custodial parent must show
the custodial parent had knowledge of the order of visitation and knowingly
refused the visitation.
If the custodial parent wishes to move
the children more than 100 miles, the custodial parent must serve notice to the
non-custodial parent of the desire to move the children, the location where the
children will be moved and the reason for doing so. The non-custodial parent has
thirty (30) days to file a petition objecting to the move. The custodial parent
must show it is in the child’s best interest to move and the move is not
motivated solely by vindictiveness or solely to defeat the non-custodial parent’s
visitation rights. If the court orders the children not be removed from the
state, and the custodial parent does so, the non-custodial parent must file a
petition for contempt.
Before pursuing any legal remedies for
denial of visitation put your children’s best interests first and be as
objective as you possibly can.
9032 Stone Walk Pl. Germantown, TN. 38138 (901)759-3489