It is rarely easy to transition from raising your child with their other parent to raising the child separately and sharing custody time. Parents who want the best for their child may still treat the other parent unfairly, either out of ignorance or plain resentment. While this type of bad behavior may seem understandable, it is still unacceptable, especially if the behavior of one parent takes away from the court ordered time that the other parent spends with their child or undermines the parent-child relationship.
When one parent’s actions obstruct the other parent’s relationship with their child, it is usually parenting time interference. Courts take this matter very seriously, especially if it violates the parenting agreement and custody order that the court approved.
Direct interference may occur any time that one parent’s actions to negligence prevent the other parent from enjoying all of the time that their custody order grants them with their child. Of course, some complications are not spiteful, but merely the difficulties of normal life — flat tires, sudden sickness and other surprises may arise quickly, and both parents may be able to give each other enough flexibility to deal with these everyday hazards. However, if one parent denies the other parent their court-ordered time, or even if they routinely show up late or forget to transfer the child, this is worth some special attention.
Indirect interference is also a problem, likely because parents believe they can get away with it. This behavior undermines the other parent’s relationship with the child, such as lying about the other parent, speaking poorly about them in front of the child or refusing to let the other parent contact the child. If you suspect that your child’s other parent violates your parenting time, don’t hesitate to use the strength of the law to keep your rights as parent protected, so you can build the best life you can for your child.