Custody & Kidnapping

When parents have joint custody, it may be divided in various ways, joint legal custody, joint physical custody, both, or something else perhaps. Do you know what the specific terms of the court order are. (ONLY INCLUDE IF WE HAVE THIS INFO: Here is a link that explains the different types of joint custody in STATE in case this is useful: LINK ) For example, do you have joint physical custody of the child? If so, are there specific times that the child is supposed to be with you that are written into the court order for custody? When an order specifically states when a parent can see the children, and the other parent is violating that order, at times the police may intervene if called. Other times, a person has to file a violation petition in court to ask the court to intervene. There can be penalties for violating a custody/visitation order - these could vary from state to state and I can’t say how your state in particular handles this but they can often range from possible fines, to having to make up the lost visitation time, to in extreme circumstances (usually for continual or very serious violations) even losing custody. You may want to talk to a lawyer in your state who specializes in custody to find out what may happen in your situation.

If there are no specific times written in the order and it just says something like “parents should agree on splitting the time with the children,” then you may want to ask an attorney if you can go back to court to change (modify) the order to try to include specific times if the current arrangement is not working. You may also want to ask the attorney about what your state’s parental kidnapping laws say to see if this is something that is relevant to your situation or not. Here is a link for free and low cost legal services in STATE: LINK An expert can also help you determine what your best next steps would be.