Q: Am I technically withholding visitation?
ex has history of FV with a FV Battery guilty plea in 2016 & FV Simple Battery charges pending jury trial both I was victim to.
I learned of a domestic dispute during a visitation weekend. There was drinking involved while at a friends pool, my ex was yelling at g/f and her 8yo and throwing stuff at g/f. Incident report says he told officers fight started after g/f called 2yo “f*cking retard”
Relayed my concerns & was told it’s not my business. So I told him to take me to court to utilize visitation. He has since made NO effort to p/u child from daycare on scheduled weekends & no attempts to call daycare to see if child was present.
He is holding me in contempt for withholding visitation. I can’t afford attorney. He lives 3 hrs away & I dont have means to make the trip so I couldnt file motion for modification of visitation.
Am I in contempt? I feel as if I never really had the chance to withhold or deny visits?
A: You telling him to take you to court about parenting time is contempt. However, if the parenting plan allows for him to pick up the child from daycare on his weekends, and he has chosen not to, you may not be held in contempt. If you feel that parenting time would put your child in a dangerous situation, then you need to file a modification with a court, not just ignore the court order.
A: If you have denied him visitation that he was awarded through a court order, then you may be found in contempt. You telling him to take you to court may look to a judge like you were revoking his visitation. Therefore, if he has filed a contempt action or any action against you, I would speak with an attorney so you can get a response filed. If he has a lawyer it would probably be to your detriment for you to represent yourself. Some attorneys offer payment plans and will work with your budget. My advice would be to do your best to seek legal counsel.
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