Recognizing Different Parenting Time Violations

 Posted on May 18, 2017 in Child Custody

When a court rules on parenting time as part of the allocation of parental responsibilities, it is a legally enforceable court order. A parent who violates the agreement may face criminal and civil consequences, including:

• Fines;
• Scheduling make-up parenting time for the other parent;
• Payment of a cash bond to insure against future violations;
• Probation;
• Driver's license suspension; and
• Up to a year in prison after a third offense.

Abuse of parenting time unlawfully reduces the amount of time one parent gets to spend with his or her children. There are multiple methods that parents can use to violate a parenting time agreement.

Withholding Children

The most straightforward way a parent can abuse parenting time is by preventing the other parent from seeing the children. Both parents must consent to any change in the regular parenting time schedule. A parent may have violated the agreement if he or she intentionally made the children unavailable during the other parent’s scheduled parenting time. However, the offending parent may successfully contest the violation if he or she can prove that the other parent is a threat to the children.

Unfair Schedule

There are more subtle ways that parents can abuse parenting time agreements, such as when they schedule extra-curricular activities. Parenting time schedules are expected to accommodate the children’s activities, such as sports and clubs. The parent whose parenting time coincides with an activity is responsible for transportation. When one parent chooses which activities the children participate in, he or she may abuse that power by picking activities that disproportionately interfere with the other parent’s time with the children. An offending parent may face civil penalties if the court believes he or she intentionally scheduled the activities to affect the other parent’s parenting time.

Child Refusal

A parent can be held in contempt of a parenting time agreement if a child refuses to visit the other parent. Courts are skeptical of such claims because the parent may be lying or the child may have been coerced. If a child truly does not want to visit the other parent, it is not a valid reason to violate a parenting time agreement, unless the other parent is a threat to the child. Each parent is obligated to make a reasonable attempt to comply with the parenting time agreement, even if the child in uncooperative.

Enforcing Parenting Time

If you believe your former spouse is violating your parenting time agreement, you need to protect your parental rights. A Kane County family law attorney at Goostree Law Group can help you take the necessary civil or criminal action to enforce your parenting time. Call 630-584-4800 to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=072000050K10-5.5