QUESTION
My ex husband won''t let our daughter go on a vacation that he originally agreed to. What rights do I have as custodial parent?
Asked on Jan 24th, 2012 on Child Custody - Virginia
More details to this question:
My son & daughter-in-law want to take my 10 year-old daughter on a ski trip with their 2 kids. My ex husband told our daughter she could go but has now changed his mind. The weekend she''ll be gone is his weekend for visitation. 2 years ago he filed abduction charges against me for taking her on a Disney cruise to the Bahamas. He knew about the trip and was court ordered to pay for her passport but still took me to court just because he could. It was dismissed by the judge. She missed week-long summer camp 2 years in a row because the dates interfered with "his" time. He has her every other weekend and overnight on Wednesdays. Does she basically have to miss out on ever going on a vacation? He''ll never agree to her going because he knows it will upset me. After our divorce he told me he would take me to court every single day he could so that I would lose money from being out of work. Any advice?
1 ANSWER
1 Award
It is unfortunate he is being this way, but he is entitled to demand strict adherence to the court order. No attorney is going to tell you it is okay to disobey a court order. If the vacation is scheduled during his visitation time, then your daughter will have to miss the trip. It seems like the current schedule is really not working, in that the Wednesday overnights preclude any week-long trips. Most visitation schedules will allow a week or two in the summer for each parent, to accommodate vacation trips. You may want to consider petitioning the court to modify the schedule accordingly, if the father won't do so voluntarily.
This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia and may not be applicable in any other state. It should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.
Answered on Jan 30th, 2012 at 1:49 PM