I’m dealing with a situation where my co-parent is consistently bringing our child a day late for visitation. They have stated they can no longer have their spouse drive the child on Fridays and won’t drive themselves because they don’t want to put their other children in the car. The court originally ordered them to provide all transportation after they moved out of state without a hearing, and they’ve repeatedly ignored my attempts to discuss missed days. I want to know if this could be considered contempt of court and how long I should wait for a response before taking action.
What’s the custody split and how far is the drive? If they’re asking to split transportation responsibilities now, they might have a case in court.
Did the co-parent communicate that the child would be late in advance? Check if the order specifies that they must transport the child or if another licensed adult can.
If they’re ordered to transport and they don’t, they’re technically in contempt. Just keep track of all late instances and communicate everything in writing.
Have they shown any willingness to compromise? It might be beneficial to propose mediation before taking legal steps.
You might need to file for contempt at some point, especially if they keep ignoring your attempts to resolve this. Document everything.
It sounds like the other party is trying to manipulate the situation. If they’re ignoring agreements, you may not have a choice but to go to court.