SunnyJC925
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
My husband is the custodial parent of his 14 month old son. The mother of my step-son is frequently late returning him after her visitation; at least once a week she is late anywhere from 30 min to 3 hours. (Easter Sunday, she was 5 hours late.) She does not usually notify us that she will be late and frequently claims she "mixed up" the dates / times.
All of these tardies have been documented and the police have been called to take incident reports. The police indicated there is nothing they can do when she fails to return the child, unless he has been kidnapped.
Today, the woman requested special accomodation for various birthday parties, baby swim lessons, graduations, etc. over the next 2 months. She wanted to extend her visitation by 8 - 10 hours per week. My husband does not want to accomodate her requests since she can't keep to the existing schedule and order in place. In addition, several of her requests for special events have turned out to be lies, so he does not believe that she is being truthful now. For example, she asked to take the child to her grandfather's funeral when, in fact, the funeral had already taken place several weeks prior. She asked to take the child to a friend's 6th grade graduation, when that child's school does not have a 6th grade graduation ceremony.
The mother has filed a request to modify visitation and become the custodial parent. My husband will be asking for sole legal and sole physical custody. They don't go to court / mediation until June. My questions are as follows:
1. Is my husband's hesitation to accomodate her new requests detrimental to him retaining custody?
2. He would like to ask that she just follow the existing order until June and readdress the issues then. Do you think this is the best course of action?
3. What can be done about her frequent tardiness, if anything? Is she not held accountable by the legal system?
4. Someone mentioned "sanctions" can be placed on her for violating the existing order. What are "sanctions," how do they work, and is this true?
Thank you for your help.
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CaliforniaWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
My husband is the custodial parent of his 14 month old son. The mother of my step-son is frequently late returning him after her visitation; at least once a week she is late anywhere from 30 min to 3 hours. (Easter Sunday, she was 5 hours late.) She does not usually notify us that she will be late and frequently claims she "mixed up" the dates / times.
All of these tardies have been documented and the police have been called to take incident reports. The police indicated there is nothing they can do when she fails to return the child, unless he has been kidnapped.
Today, the woman requested special accomodation for various birthday parties, baby swim lessons, graduations, etc. over the next 2 months. She wanted to extend her visitation by 8 - 10 hours per week. My husband does not want to accomodate her requests since she can't keep to the existing schedule and order in place. In addition, several of her requests for special events have turned out to be lies, so he does not believe that she is being truthful now. For example, she asked to take the child to her grandfather's funeral when, in fact, the funeral had already taken place several weeks prior. She asked to take the child to a friend's 6th grade graduation, when that child's school does not have a 6th grade graduation ceremony.
The mother has filed a request to modify visitation and become the custodial parent. My husband will be asking for sole legal and sole physical custody. They don't go to court / mediation until June. My questions are as follows:
1. Is my husband's hesitation to accomodate her new requests detrimental to him retaining custody?
2. He would like to ask that she just follow the existing order until June and readdress the issues then. Do you think this is the best course of action?
3. What can be done about her frequent tardiness, if anything? Is she not held accountable by the legal system?
4. Someone mentioned "sanctions" can be placed on her for violating the existing order. What are "sanctions," how do they work, and is this true?
Thank you for your help.
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CaliforniaWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?