What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA
I've seen way too many people complain about how the ex does not comply with a court order and only to hear back from their representative counsel say that it's not a concern that you should not be taking time away from the other parent from their children. I just don't understand this mindset when there is a court order for a parenting agreement. What is the point of the whole parenting plan if the counsel is advising not to do anything when the rules are broken?
Its a complicated situation and it depends on the context of the non-compliance and which parent is non-compliant, and how they are non-compliant. In addition, the remedies vary depending upon how the non-compliance effects the other parent.
For example, in most instances a parent who does not share joint physical custody, would be unlikely to be penalized for not exercising all of their parenting time. The exception to that would be in the non-custodial parent causes significant economic hardship to the custodial parent by not exercising all of their parenting time. IE the custodial parent's work/school schedule is based on great part by the parenting schedule, and the non-custodial parent often does not exercise their parenting time, causing them to either miss work/school or scramble for child care. However, in that instance a court cannot force a parent to exercise all their time, the court can only force them to be financially responsible if they do not.
That is just one of probably hundreds of examples of non-compliance.
Another example is a parent who does not exercise parenting time for a very long period of time...months...years and then tries to enforce parenting time. Technically they are still entitled to the time even if the children don't know who the heck they are because they have been absent for so long. In that instance the solution is a rush to court to suspend/adjust parenting time based on the fact that the parent is a stranger to the children.
In other words...the whole thing is modifiable, adjustable and fluid based on what is actually going on.
Probably at least 95% of cases are going to involve both parents being active and either working things out between the two of them, or going back to court to make adjustments based on the reality of their situations. The more active both parents are, the more the "minutia" (I think I spelled that wrong) could matter.
Bottom line however is that its complicated and there are always going to be issues that are not worth fighting about, and issues that are...and what those issues are depends on the totality of the circumstances.
