Q: Does a written agreement void the court ordered one?
My daughters father and I made written agreement so he got her on Christmas this year which he was not suppose to and he is now trying to back track and say per the court ordered agreement he gets her on the 28th through Sunday, however that was not part of the new written agreement we had come up with for this year.
A:
I'm sorry that you are having to deal with this situation. The parties can agree to whatever possession schedule that they would like. Absent an agreement, the court order is the default. However, a written agreement does not void the court order.
The fact that you and your daughter's Father no longer agree on the possession period, then the language in the court order prevails; which means that he would get her from noon on December 28 until 6:00pm on the Sunday before school reopens. If the written agreement specifically states that you will have possession of your daughter during the disputed time period, then you can choose to follow your written agreement.
If anyone chooses to take the other back to court to enforce the court order, you can use the written agreement that you guys had as evidence in court. Hopefully, both of your signatures are on the written agreement, or you have the agreement in text or email form.
I am not sure if this has happened before or not, but it may be wise to just follow the court order going forward. Especially if Father is going to agree to something different from the court order and then later us the court order to his advantage.
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