Coordinating child custody during the holidays can be a stressful time for divorced parents, especially for those in a contentious relationship. While split holidays are usually the answer, factors like long vacations or emergencies can result in a change of plans, which can upset one of the parents. Once holidays are over, there should be a collective sigh of relief from divorced parents…right?
Violations of Custody Agreements
Even with Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the rearview mirror, emotions can still run high after the holidays. Unfortunately, parents may express their bitter feelings towards each other by violating their child custody agreement, which can lead to a ton of issues. However, violations such as these can result in changes to a child agreement, benefitting the non-offending parent. Below are some of the most common violations:
- Refusing to respect visitation rights: One of the most frequent problems for divorced parents is bringing back children much later than they are supposed to or deliberately arranging activities to conflict with scheduled visitation.
- Taking the child without notifying the other parent: If your ex-spouse takes your child without your permission, you can and should alert the authorities. Many times it can reach the level of kidnapping, with the FBI getting involved.
- Badmouthing the other parent: Courts do not allow one parent to alienate their kids from the other parent. However, this is common when there is an especially tough divorce and the parents are not on good terms. While it may be tempting to badmouth the parent that is badmouthing you, it’s best to avoid doing so because it may be seen as poor behavior on your part.
- Disagreements over religion: Religion should always be spelled out in the custody agreement because it can quickly become an issue. Courts can prevent parents from taking their children to certain services if they deem it a problem
- Bad personal habits: If one parent smokes or drinks all the time, the court may consider the best interests of the child and change the existing custody agreement if needed.
While one minor violation is usually not enough to warrant a change in custody, a string of violations or an especially egregious one can result in a revision. If your ex-spouse has been violating your child custody agreement, contact our Worcester divorce lawyers at the Law Office of Robert W. Kovacs, Jr. today.
Call (508) 926-8833 or contact us online to speak with a representative.
