Despite your best efforts to develop and adhere to a healthy co-parenting plan after divorce, your ex may not be following the rules. If your ex-wife is the custodial parent, and you are seeing your child less and less, you are probably frustrated and concerned. You might be tempted to accept this behavior and not start a fight, but there are ways to resolve this type of situation.
According to Minnesota law, it is a felony to deprive another parent of parental rights. Here are some things you should consider if you are not seeing your child when you should be.
Is the interference occasional?
Maybe this only happens once in awhile. Perhaps you were supposed to see your child for a weekend, but something came up, and your ex did not let you. If this is an occasional occurrence, you might simply be able to work with your ex to make up visitation time. Try this first. If she does not want to schedule any makeup dates, you might have to contact a family law attorney.
Are you deprived of your rights consistently?
Other times, this is a regular occurrence. If you have not seen your child for months or even years, you might have to get the court or law enforcement involved. First, you can submit legal paperwork with the court to enforce your parenting rights. Sometimes, filing a petition will be enough to get the custodial parent to comply with the parenting schedule.
If this does not work, you might have to get the police involved. This can create more hostility between the two of you so you may want to include law enforcement as a last resort. If the situation is serious enough, you may receive an alteration in your custody arrangement.
Working together with your ex to follow a parenting time schedule can be difficult. However, hopefully, you can resolve your situation with a simple conversation or help from an attorney.
