Child Visitation & Injunction

by Anonymous Dad from Florida

My ex wife has violated our court approved agreement for custody and visitation on multiple occasions and now she has filed an injunction against me stating I threatened her upon telling her I was going to involve the police.

She also states in the injunction that I am not exercising my right to visitation and the child support should be higher.

I can't see my boys because she takes them out of town when it is my weekend or never answers the phone when I call to make arrangements to pick them up.

So last weekend after calling all week I called her and left a voice mail stating I would involve the police if she didn't return my calls as stated in the paperwork and I now have an injunction filed against me for threatening her.

Answer to Florida Custody & Visitation Question

Dear Anonymous Dad,

Sadly, your story is a very common one.

I sense your frustration in trying to spend the time with your kids that you and they deserve.

The good news is that you have a court-ordered visitation schedule.

This means that you have certain rights and recourses available to you.

First, if your ex has filed in injunction against you, you will have a hearing in front of a judge. Be sure to follow the instructions about answering the injunction, if any, and attending the hearing.

You can plead your side of the story to the judge at the injunction hearing. Most judges are very fair in an injunction hearing and understand the kind of disputes that can arise out of arguments over visitation.

As the Petitioner, your ex will have to prove her case to have an injunction ordered against you. See Florida statutes 741.28 and 741.30 for information about domestic violence definitions and notice of hearings.

If your ex is violating the court-ordered visitation agreement, you will need to file a Motion for Civil Contempt Enforcement first, before the police can do anything about your visitations with the kids.

The more details you can put into your Motion the better. There are several things you can do to help you make a strong case for your Motion. You could document every time you attempt to make arrangements with your ex to visit your boys.

You could keep a log or a notebook by your phone and jot down the dates and times of your phone calls and summarize with bullet points the conversations you have with your ex, including any unreasonable denials or requests.

Also, read and then re-read your Parenting Plan and visitation order to make sure that you are not the one making any unreasonable requests.

If there is a pattern of behavior over time that violates the Parenting Plan and visitation schedule that is keeping you from having visitation with your kids, then you have what it takes to have an Order for Civil Contempt entered against your ex.

An Order for Civil Contempt is what the police will need to enforce your child visitation schedule. A judge will decide what the police can and can't do to enforce the order. Download the Motion for Civil Contempt and Enforcement, Form 12.960 and read the instructions before you proceed. Good luck.

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