child support/visitation laws

In the state of California if a father with joint legal and a mother with sole physical custody when the father misses a month of a child support payment is the mother legally still binded to a court order for visitation and still has not made any child support payments since february.

Visitation and child support are completely separate issues. The custodial parent could be held in contempt for not obeying court ordered visitation.

[LegalBeagle]

Originally posted by audrey maples
In the state of California if a father with joint legal and a mother with sole physical custody when the father misses a month of a child support payment is the mother legally still binded to a court order for visitation and still has not made any child support payments since february.

Why would you deny the child a relationship with the father just because he has not paid CS. Does that mean you hang a price over the childs head? What is the price? Does it increase with age? By denying visitation, would you not hurt the child as well? Would you not consider this hurt to be child abuse?

Curious..

I understand the two are separate issues, but I don't always think it's right. I've never gotten child support, not a penny. My ex doesn't visit, but if he wanted to, I'd have to let him. So he gets to be a dad whenever he chooses but takes no responsibility for the needs of his children. I, on the other hand, have no choice. I have to feed my children 3 meals a day, buy them clothes every season, take them do the dr., pay our house payment, etc. You know what? I'm glad to do it, and they'll grow up knowing who took care of them. They know he doesn't pay me anything. Someday when they realize how much things cost, they'll realize that's what I was working for all those years. It just seems like I should be able to tell him "no" if he wanted to come around now -- they'd be dead if it depended on him anyway. That sounds a bit extreme, yes, but food and shelter are basic necessities of life, and he's not provided anything for them in three years.

[tigger22472]

I agree with you on this issue. I think in cases where the NCP(mother or father) do not pay the support due to simply avoiding it and then only visit when THEY feel the need that visitation should be stopped. I have an ex who doesn't ask to see his kids unless he pays support and that only happens when the state happens to find him and that only lasts a few weeks until he quits his job or does something to get fired. The last job he had he worked for over a year there. I got support for 3.5 weeks and then he got fired. Isn't if funny that just prior to that he said he couldn't afford to work and give me all his money. He was ordered $113 a week plus 10$ on his outragous arreage. He is now $12,000 behind and continually avoids paying and yet if he were to show at my door or call the children after almost a year by law I'm required to allow him to see or talk to them. Where is the fairness in that?? I'm sure when we go to court next week he's going to tell me he wants to see them. As wrong as it will be I will be in contempt and he can walk his little happy butt right back into the judges chambers and whine about it. I have reasons that have nothing to do with support to keep him away. The sporatic contact is one but the main was is that while making excuses as to why he doesn't see them he ALWAYS put it on me when that was the furthest from the truth. If he's not using me as the excuse he tells them outragous stories about how he's dying and such and emotionally harmed my children. I believe that parents should work together and if a NCP honestly can't pay the support as it is ordered then the parents should work together for the children's sake but just like marriage, parenting is a two way street and one can't do it all.