Q: I am divorced and have joint custody of my child. My question is regarding my pick up times.
The Texas standard order states that I am to pick up my daughter by 6:00pm on Friday and drop her off by 6:00pm on Sunday. My ex wife is saying that if I don’t make it by 6:00pm on Friday, then I can’t have her. I no longer live in Texas and fly in to see her on Fridays. Sometimes the plane is delayed and I can’t pick up my daughter by 6:00pm. Is she allowed to keep my daughter from me in that scenario?
A:
First, you should make every attempt to pick up and drop off on time, even if this means that you have to catch an earlier flight to make sure you pick up by 6:00p.m.
There is not a hard and fast rule that says if you are not there by 6:00pm "on the dot" you lose your visitation. If you have to take Mother to court to let a judge know that she's not allowing you to take your daughter, the Court can consider factors such as: how late were you picking up, did other arrangements have to be made with your daughter because you were not timely, how often are you late, etc. If you are only minutes late and your daughter is just sitting at home when you get there and Mother will not allow her to go with you, that could be a problem for Mother if you take her to court on an enforcement/contempt motion.
It sounds like you have moved outside of Texas since your divorce. You may consider filing a motion to modify your court order and request different pick up/drop off times or whatever other modifications of the order you think would be in your daughter's best interest.
I hope this information helps. Good luck to you.
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