Custody & Kidnapping

As you may know, if there is a custody or visitation order in place, judges will often expect the custodial parent to enforce it with their child even if the child refuses. Depending on the child’s age, though, this can be easier said than done. If a child is small, the parent can pick the child up and give them to the other parent, even if the child is crying and doesn’t seem to want to go. However, if the child is beyond the age and weight where s/he can be picked up, the custodial parent might be expected to make the child go in the car and drive the child to the other parent to comply with the visitation order, If the child refuses to get out of the car to see the other parent, for example, sometimes the custodial parent will try to document this by taking a photo or audio recording to show that the child was brought to the visitation exchange location but refuses to leave the car. This way, if the custodial parent is accused of contempt of court for violating the order, s/he can at least have proof that s/he tried to follow the order as part of his/her defense.

In addition, keeping a log of what happens at each visitation exchange may also be helpful if the parent is questioned in court about what s/he did to try to follow the visitation order. For example, a parent can document that s/he began getting the child ready at 12 pm, the child cried for 20 minutes and refused to get dressed, the parent finally got the child in the car and arrived, the child fought the parent for 10 minutes to get out of the car, the child got out and ran down the block to avoid the other parent, etc.