Some of your parental rights include spending quality time with your children on a regular basis. However, in a situation where you are not on good terms with your co-parent, that can be difficult. They could prevent you from accessing the children, which could end up ruining your parent-child relationship.
In such a case, you need to take swift action to secure your rights and protect the children. Here is what you need to know:
You can seek a modification or enforcement of custody orders
If your co-parent prevents you from seeing the children per the court-issued orders, you may ask the court to enforce or modify the custody terms. It’s always wise to remember that the court can’t do anything if it isn’t aware there’s a problem. Judges can often exert some serious pressure to make a parent comply with the custody agreement. For instance, your co-parent may be held in contempt of court if they constantly disregard the custody orders. That could translate to fines or even time in jail.
In some instances, if the children’s welfare is at risk with the current arrangement, the court may modify the custody orders. These may include cases where one parent alienates the children from the other or denies their co-parent all access to the children without valid reasons. Your co-parent could end up losing physical custody and only retain visitation rights if the judge deems it to be in the children’s best interests.
Protect your children
As a parent, getting involved in your child’s life is very important for their growth and well-being. No matter the differences that exist between you and your co-parent, they should never affect the relationship you have with your children. If it is the case, you need to know how to handle the situation.
Ideally, any conflict involving the children should be dealt with amicably by the parents. But if you don’t make any headway through dialogue, it may be time to turn to the court for relief.
