Q: If my coparent has repeatedly violated the order of custody for our son, is it contempt or custody frustration?
He moved 57 miles away, gave three weeks notice to me after he bought the house. Now one day of visiting was eliminated, and no makeup time was created. My son says he's picked on by his brothers and stepmother because they talk about what a loser I am and how he shouldn't be like me or love me,etc. He wants to leave his father's house and I don't want him to have to live in that type of environment. Father was ordered to put son in counselling, work out holiday schedules in advance and post on Google and has been harassing my boyfriend with fabricated texts alleging I'm using drugs and being unfaithful and posted nude photos of me. I want to handle this and stop his behaviour for food.
A:
I don't know what custody frustration is. If you want to go for contempt, you certainly can. The big question is whether the current court order you have prohibits any of the things he is doing. The only way to know for sure is to read the order, but I'm willing to bet at least some of what he is doing is prohibited.
Contempt is different than being ignorant or mistaken. Contempt is, essentially, a person knowing what they have been ordered to and doing it anyway because they couldn't care less what the judge says.
Andy
A: You need a lawyer immediately as all of these issues are too complex for you to handle yourself. You have issues of parental alienation and an unauthorized move-away, failure to comply with court orders, and failure to take reasonable steps to care for the mental health of the child. If you want to file for a change of custody, depending on the age of your child, you may need either a Child Custody Evaluation or a PP2, which is a one day Parental Parenting Assessment performed by the court. Advise you to seek legal help immediately. If you cannot afford an attorney, then seek out your court's Family Law Facilitator, or call your local Bar Association to get a referral to a pro bono or modest means panel of attorneys who may help you. In any case, the longer you leave your child in that home, and the longer he is settling in to that home, area and school, the harder it will be to change custody.
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