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Parenting plan & contempt

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cjnida

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WV
If a parenting plan (which is an order in effect) is not being followed and contempt charges have been filed, court date is set, but the parent being held in contempt continues to not follow the parenting plan, can additional petitions for contempt be filed?
 


truebluemd

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WV
If a parenting plan (which is an order in effect) is not being followed and contempt charges have been filed, court date is set, but the parent being held in contempt continues to not follow the parenting plan, can additional petitions for contempt be filed?
It is my understandig that you can file a motion at any time. Depending on how far away the hearing for the first contempt motion is, you can request the the new motion for contempt be added and heard with the previous one if there is enough time. Its up to a judge if he wants to hear them, but you can certainly try to bring it up at the hearing as evidence too. I am only saying this because at my contempt hearing, the judge in my case allowed me to speak about an incident that happened the weekend before my hearing.
 

cjnida

Junior Member
The papers that we got only names him for the hearing. I took that as the judge just wants to speak with him only.
 

cjnida

Junior Member
The contempt is for not getting his 4yr old daughter and 6yr old son when he is scheduled to, nor does he call 48 hours in advance. This is not just one or two weekends the contempt is for 17 weekends since December. I want to look out for my childrens best interest, and I think that is a relationship with their father, but I am starting to wonder. I think he should be a Dad, but I wonder if making him be a Dad could hurt my kids further.
 

truebluemd

Senior Member
The contempt is for not getting his 4yr old daughter and 6yr old son when he is scheduled to, nor does he call 48 hours in advance. This is not just one or two weekends the contempt is for 17 weekends since December. I want to look out for my childrens best interest, and I think that is a relationship with their father, but I am starting to wonder. I think he should be a Dad, but I wonder if making him be a Dad could hurt my kids further.
are you the custodial parent?

To be clear, you filed contempt because he is not excercising his visitation, specifically his is not picking the kids up, or not picking the kids up on time?

Visitation for the NCP is a choice not a requirement, if he chooses not to excercise it, I dont think he would be found to be in contempt. You cannot force him to be a dad.
 

cjnida

Junior Member
Now I am showing my ignorance of the law. Why is it called a court ordered parenting plan then and why do the papers (contempt) say that he must now show just cause why he hasn't gotten his children during his scheduled parenting time if he is not in contempt. I appologize if I come off wrong, I really do appreciate all of your advice, this is all just very frustrating.
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
Now I am showing my ignorance of the law. Why is it called a court ordered parenting plan then and why do the papers (contempt) say that he must now show just cause why he hasn't gotten his children during his scheduled parenting time if he is not in contempt. I appologize if I come off wrong, I really do appreciate all of your advice, this is all just very frustrating.
Do you have joint custody or do YOU have custody and he has visitation? Answer that question first.
 

cjnida

Junior Member
The divorce papers say that I am the custodial parent, the judge told us in our divorce hearing that that meant that the children primarily reside with me and go to school from my house.
 

truebluemd

Senior Member
The divorce papers say that I am the custodial parent, the judge told us in our divorce hearing that that meant that the children primarily reside with me and go to school from my house.
ok, so is there a visitatio plan for the othe parent. What exactly is the parenting time arrangement for dad?
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
The divorce papers say that I am the custodial parent, the judge told us in our divorce hearing that that meant that the children primarily reside with me and go to school from my house.
Get your divorce papers out. Look at them. Copy exactly what it says about custody. Does it say primary custody, full custody, sole custody? It matters. And is the custody divided between physical (residential) and legal? Or is there no breakdown?
 

cjnida

Junior Member
Dad's parenting time is 4pm Friday to 6pm Sunday every week (This is because when he left he moved to another state about an hour away & he agreed that he would not be able to do any weekday visitations because of work, etc.)

My divorce papers do not have a section that pertains to custody except for the part that say:

"Ordered, Adjudged, and Decreed that the parties' Parenting Plan shall be approved, ratified, confirmed, incorporated, and made a part of this Court's Order as if fully set forth herein;"

....and everything in the parenting plan says shared. ex. Education, Medical, Religious, Child care, Children's Employment, Motor Vehicle Use, School, Sports
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
Dad's parenting time is 4pm Friday to 6pm Sunday every week (This is because when he left he moved to another state about an hour away & he agreed that he would not be able to do any weekday visitations because of work, etc.)

My divorce papers do not have a section that pertains to custody except for the part that say:

"Ordered, Adjudged, and Decreed that the parties' Parenting Plan shall be approved, ratified, confirmed, incorporated, and made a part of this Court's Order as if fully set forth herein;"

....and everything in the parenting plan says shared. ex. Education, Medical, Religious, Child care, Children's Employment, Motor Vehicle Use, School, Sports

When you say SHARED do you mean decision making? What does it say regarding school and what determines the child's school address? This is important. If dad has visitation only he does not have to exercise it. IF dad has shared physical custody that is a different set of rules and it is applied differently and he could be found in contempt. Which means he could be forced to pay daycare for the time he is not exercising or other expenses associated with the time he should be exercising and isn't OR custody can be changed or a variety of other things. But if it is visitation only, he doesn't really have to exercise it.

And why do you want to FORCE him to exercise it?
 

wileybunch

Senior Member
Now I am showing my ignorance of the law. Why is it called a court ordered parenting plan then and why do the papers (contempt) say that he must now show just cause why he hasn't gotten his children during his scheduled parenting time if he is not in contempt. I appologize if I come off wrong, I really do appreciate all of your advice, this is all just very frustrating.
The papers show that because that's how your attorney has worded it. That does not mean it's a legitimate case just because your attorney filed it. Maybe your case is different than most, but if he is a NCP with visitation, he is not obligated to TAKE his visitation, but you are obligated to GIVE it to him. There is a difference. All he can take, without you agreeing otherwise, is what's provided for in the CO. That's the most he can have in that case. But, there isn't anything requiring him to take any certain amount of it or face a penalty.
 

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