Visitation

[ppasq2003]

Jurisdiction

Florida

Hi
My ex wife and are divorced my visitation days are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I went o get my children today and she would not allow me to get them, she called the police and they said they could not enforce it, What are my rights?

 

[adjusterjack]

If your visitation is court ordered you file for contempt.

 

[mightymoose]

If you show law enforcement the court order and they are able to determine it is definitely your time they should be able to assist you.

Over time many parents stray from what is in the court order, or never got one in the first place, and there is no help available when that happens.

If yours is a very general pine that says "visitation as agreed" or something similar then you should get a new order. Nobody knows what you agreed to and it can't be enforced. It should all be clear in a written order.

 

[KatDini]

Get a copy of the police report. If you continue to show up and Mom continues to refuse, get a copy of the police report. After a few times of this, you contact your attorney, take your reports to said attorney and have him file with the court for a contempt hearing, where the judge will decide what happens next.

Most LEOs are reluctant to get involved in civil matters, and will only do a report if asked. Some might attempt to persuade the other parent to follow the court order, but that's about it.

 

[zddoodah]

My ex wife and are divorced my visitation days are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I went o get my children today

At the time of your post, "today" was Saturday. If you have visitation Thursday through Saturday, why did you wait until Saturday to pick up your kids?

she would not allow me to get them

Because...???

What are my rights?

Attempting to create a list of rights would serve no useful purpose whatsoever. You're obviously entitled to seek to have your ex held in contempt of court for refusing to abide by the divorce decree.

 

[leslie82]

Hi
My ex wife and are divorced my visitation days are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I went o get my children today and she would not allow me to get them, she called the police and they said they could not enforce it, What are my rights?

Why didn't you get them on Thursday? Or Friday? Why did you wait until Saturday? That's the day you take them back. Something is missing here.

 

[mightymoose]

At the time of your post, "today" was Saturday. If you have visitation Thursday through Saturday, why did you wait until Saturday to pick up your kids?

Good catch.
This problem comes up fairly frequently. One parent arrives late (significantly late) and wants the kids, however the other parent has already moved on and made other plans.
If this was the case and you arrived two days later you should not have expected to get visitation. If it doesn't create an undue hardship then the kids should certainly be made available, but if your failure to pick them up on time has caused the other parent to obtain child care, or perhaps they have left town, they will not be expected to go out of their way just because you arrived late.
Your custody order should give a specific time and place to exchange the kids. You do not have liberty to modify that time and place. This may be why the police said they could not enforce the order.