In some child custody scenarios, one parent will be awarded primary custody of the children while the other parent will be given visitation rights. You will likely have a specific visitation schedule that each party is expected to honor. However, there are some situations in which one parent will attempt to keep the children away from the visiting parent and interfere with their legal rights.
This interference might come in any of a variety of forms. The custodial parent might attempt to dodge visitation dates by specifically scheduling their children for appointments or activities during visitation time. They might talk negatively about the visiting parent in hopes that their children will refuse to see that parent.
However, there are ways that you can enforce your rights of visitation. If the other parent has been interfering with your visitation, you can file an motion within the court to have them enforce your visitation rights. If the custodial parent continues to interfere with your rights, you might wind up with an increase in visitation time, make-up visits, more leeway in terms of where and when you visit and even potentially changes in custody arrangements.
The custodial parent is expected to encourage the child to interact with the visiting parent, and make sure that they keep up frequent contact. By engaging in this time of positive behavior, there are less likely to be issues relating to visitation. But it’s important for the visiting parent to be proactive with enforcement if they believe their rights are being violated.
If you have any questions about your parental visitation rights, speak with a skilled Minnesota child custody attorney at Appelhof, Pfeifer & Hart, P.A.
