In our last post, we highlighted the dangers a parent may face if they withhold parenting time due to a dispute with the other parent. Essentially, a parent who takes this course of action runs the risk of getting on a family court judge’s bad side, and they risk having additional sanctions against them.

Before getting to that point, a person who is denied parenting time may go through a range of emotions, most notably anger at the other parent. This anger may lead to unfortunate and short-sided decisions. With that said, we offer the following tips:

Know your order – Not only is this important for knowing when and where exchanges are supposed to take place, the custody decree may also have important information about what must be done in order to resolve the issue before coming back to court for a remedy.

Don’t make things worse – It is natural to send incessant text messages or continually call the other parent in an attempt to get them to move quicker or bring the children as they were supposed to, but resist the urge to take the additional step of confronting the other parent and creating a physical altercation.

Write everything down – In tense, emotional situations, it is difficult to keep track of everything that went on that led to missed parenting time. Because of this, it is helpful to write as much as you can remember about the situation. This can help in organizing your thoughts in preparation for seeking a remedy.

If you have additional questions about how to deal with missed parenting time, an experienced family law attorney can help. 

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