It can be tempting for some North Carolina parents to try to block child visitation with an ex-spouse. However, if a court has granted a non-custodial parent visitation with a child, refusing visitation can lead to fines, jail time, and even loss of custody of the child. Here are a few illegitimate reasons some parents try to block visitation.
A parent may be concerned that a child does not have his or her own bedroom in the house of the ex-spouse. However, this does not provide grounds for refusing visitation. In other cases, parent may feel that if the ex-spouse is behind on child support payments, they do not deserve to see the children. However, being behind on payments does not mean that a parent does not have a right to see their child.
If a child is sick, a parent may feel that denying visitation is acceptable. If the child has the chickenpox, a cold or the flu, the non-custodial parent still has the right to see the child. If the child is hospitalized, the custodial parent needs to provide the appropriate information to the non-custodial parent in order to visit the child. It may be tempting to refuse this information because of past bitterness and anger, but it could actually lead to legal trouble for the custodial parent.
The child may say that they prefer to not visit the non-custodial parent. If there is legitimate reason for concern, the custodial parent will want to get to the bottom of it. However, if the court has given visitation rights to an ex-spouse, the child cannot deny it. It may be that the child is just resisting the new circumstances.
Despite a person’s best efforts to co-parent, situations may arise that make them feel like denying visitation would be in the children’s best interests. In this situation, a person may want to read the Piedmont Triad divorce blog to learn more about different forms of child custody after a divorce. A lawyer may be able to examine the situation and let a parent know what legal options they have available to them.
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