Learning to choose your battles carefully is an important aspect of sharing custody of your child with his or her other parent. Especially in the beginning, it is very common for both parents to find it very difficult to abide by all the provisions of their custody agreement and parenting plan, and this is to be expected in some form or another. However, when one parent’s behavior results in a loss of parenting time by the other parent or negatively affects the other parent’s relationship with the child, the courts may see this as parenting time interference, and may punish the offending parent accordingly.
If you suspect that your own custody experience includes parenting time interference, you may need to take legal action to protect your right to time with your child and to an unobstructed relationship with the child. Whether your child’s other parent interferes directly with your time by preventing you from enjoying physical custody and visitation or interferes indirectly by obstructing your communication and relationship with the child, you can petition the court to review these actions and find appropriate remedies.
It is wise to review your parenting plan or custody agreement to see if either include provisions that specially condemn parenting time interference. Most parenting agreements must include these provisions before a court is willing to accept them, so it is possible that you already have these protections provided.
Enforcing your rights is another matter entirely, and one that you must consider carefully to avoid establishing bad patterns of behavior between you and your child’s other parent. Be sure to scrutinize the custody and agreements that you have to identify recommended remedies and develop a strong legal strategy to help you protect your rights and priorities and create a good, healthy life for your child.
