Q: I'm interested in pursuing a contempt case with regard to child custody order
According to the order:
(defendant) shall have partial and/or supervised physical custody of (child) as determined by agreement of the parties.
With this particular paragraph, does the use of agreement (implied in fact) fulfill the requirements?
For a length of time (three months) (plaintiff) allowed (defendant) visitation over weekends on a bi-weekly basis. Then decided to refuse visits due to exchange of words. Based on these actions: 1. overnight visits would indicate (plaintiff) agreement with partial physical custody. 2. the frequency and duration of visits would indicate, agreement of bi-weekly visitation for the future. Is it worth filing for contempt in this case?
A: Your attempt to make this question gender and litigant neutral makes it a bit confusing but this is what I can tell you. It may not be a contempt petition worthy circumstance but you may want to explore filing a petition to modify the order. I strongly urge you to consult with an experienced family law attorney in your area before you make any legal moves. Sometimes what was an "exchange of words" to one party may appear to be something more serious to another. Try to have the entire matter evaluated by an attorney.
Cary B. Hall agrees with this answer
A:
Agree that this is less a "contempt" action, and much more of a "custody modification" matter. The language of the order is "agreement of the parties." If the parties can't agree, well . . . then there's no agreement, and so no exchange of custody. If you don't like this language, you can petition the court to change it and establish a set schedule of custody according to a calendar (instead of the whim of the parties at any given time). But if there's no agreement, then there's no contempt.
If you'd like to discuss the case in further detail, feel free to contact me offsite. Best of luck!
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