Q: I have a temporary restraining order on my son's dad. He is asking in a roundabout way to spend 3 hours with our son.

A: You can call the police if that happens. But despite your situation, you both really need to protect the child and not worry about the worst. Too many people forget that parents, just because they are no longer right for each other, still love their children.

A: You are asking the wrong question. You went to court to get a restraining order because of your fear of your ex, which temporary restraining order including a restraint on his contact with your son. Now, you want to agree to permit him to spend several hours with your son on his birthday but to do so, you need to ask the court to modify the existing temporary restraining order to permit him to have your son with him on XXX day with the pick up at YYY and the drop off at ZZZZ time. A judge can then enter an amended temporary order for the time so that it will not be a violation. If you do it without an order of the court, then if he does not bring your son back to you when promised, it becomes difficult for the police to enforce an order that you violated. If you dont want to go back to court to amend the order, at least have a specific writing between the 2 of you acknowledging the terms of the pickup / drop off and the continuation of the temporary restraining order.

A: Thank you for your question. Generally speaking, if the TRO granted you temporary custody and did not provide the Defendant any parenting time or contact with your son, then the TRO should be followed and he should not have any parenting time, regardless of the upcoming holidays or events. If he were to have parenting time with your son that may be deemed as contempt of a Court Order. However, to better assist you with a definitive answer, we would need more information regarding your matter; for example, how did he contact you to ask for the 3 hours of parenting time?; when is the FRO hearing?; do you have any other Court Orders establishing custody and parenting time?; were there any other TRO’s or FRO’s? The answers to those questions would allow us to better advise you of your rights regarding custody and parenting time. We recommend that you seek a consultation with an attorney so he/she can better understand the situation and be able to provide more concrete guidance on your matter.