I have visitation every other weekend…court-ordered. My Ex is not going along
with this…he’s just being difficult…saying, “Oh, well, she has a lot to do this weekend so you can’t get her”…or “Gee, ya know, she just has so much going on
this weekend…so it just wouldn’t work out.”
My ex has tons of money…I don’t.
I’ve tried to find web-sites that can direct me to where I need to go. I need to find
a website that can direct me to a form that I can fill out so that my ex can not
with-hold visitation. The bottom line is that he is in contempt of court for not
following the visitation guidelines…
I want to see my child every other weekend…but my ex is not going along with that, even though it’s the order of the court.
What can I do? Is there a place on the web I can go where I can find the forms I
need to go to? My ex is in contempt of court…I’m just not sure what to do about it.
Where are you? City/State? Are your ex and child in the same city/state?
Not knowing this, my first suggestion is to contact the clerk of the judge who issued the visitation order. Ask for advice, and ask what kind of evidence you need to provide that the ex is not obeying.
First of all, you need to talk to your lawyer. If you don’t have one, ask someone for a recommendation or look one up in the phonebook that specializes in family law. It seems like many offer a free initial consultation. They will be able to offer you specific advice for your city/state. They will be able to tell you how your local police react to these kind of situations and how the courts are treating these kinds of situations.
I once had a similar problem to yours. In my case, my child’s mother frequently claimed that my child was “sick” on visitation days and that it would be bad for her to have to leave the house. Other times there was the “too busy” excuse. I tried to be understanding that sometimes the child would have family events to attend that occured on my visitation day, but sometimes it was too frequent and she basically dared me to do something about it.
I consulted with an attorney that specializes in family law. She suggested mediation as well as the possibility of court ordered family therapy. She also suggested that when I was denied visitation, I show up at my child’s house anyway and call the police to document that I was there. Of course, the police can’t actually do anything, since it is a civil matter, but after about 5 to 7 times of having a police car in front of her house, she became a little bit more cooperative. I also reminded her of the penalties of contempt of court, the possibility of having to go to family therapy with me, as well as the possibility of her professional liscense being affected. Since I was having a hard time seeing my child, I also threw in the possibility of modifying the order so that I could have more visitation. She consulted with a lawyer and I guess she decided to be more cooperative to avoid all the time and trouble. Things have been fine lately. We have both tried to be more flexible.
One note however, from what this lawyer told me, the threat of all this is actually worse than the actual action. She said that she had quite a few cases where the other party was found in contempt, but the other party has not changed and has refused to pay anything. “They just get a slap on the wrist” she explained.
Bottom line, talk to a lawyer.
Thanks for the advice…
I’m in Little Rock, Ar., by the way.
I did call the Circuit Court Clerk’s office & was told that I can file contempt
papers myself but I don’t know where to get the forms. I’ve been to several
“legal help” websites but haven’t found contempt forms.
I do like the idea of going to my ex’s house when it’s my weekend & letting the
police document that.
Guess I’ll try to find an attorney who won’t charge me an arm & a leg…
I do appreciate the replies.
Thanks so much!
Go to the courhouse, to the office of the Clerk of the Court that presides over you case, and talk to the clerk. They can probably direct you to the place you can get the papers, or maybe even get you the correct forms then and there.
Here’s a link to a page describing the legal clinic at the University of Arkansas. It mentions that third-year students work on cases in family court, and there are phone numbers for the administrators of the clinic. I’m sure that if you call one of them, they will be able to tell you how to get an appointment.
Thanks so much for the link!!
I’m going to call them tomorrow…
you guys are great!!
Here is another resource. The page describes the “Center for Arkansas Legal Services” which provides “free civil legal assistance to low-income Arkansans.”
And as others suggested, start by talking to the court clerk’s office. They should be able to assist you in preparing and filing the contempt forms. You may not need anything more than that.