Whether you are approaching divorce and worry about your ability to spend time with your child, you already have sole custody and worry about your child spending time with your ex or your child’s other parent is preventing you from seeing your child, it is important to review your options. Sadly, the divorce process tears many families apart and child custody is an especially contentious and complicated facet of family law.
Custodial and non-custodial parents must understand and abide by their obligations.
Can parents with sole custody deny parenting time?
According to the Colorado Judicial Branch, parents who have sole custody cannot deny the other parent’s court-ordered parenting time. Moreover, custodial parents cannot decide how much time a non-custodial parent can spend with his or her child in violation of a court order. Even if a parent has sole custody and makes every major decision in their child’s life, they must respect the rights of the other parent.
Does the court deny parenting time?
In some cases, courts decide to deny parenting time if they come to the conclusion that such a decision serves the best interests of a child. Moreover, some parents decide to modify parenting time arrangements due to a change of circumstances. However, custodial parents cannot wrongly deny parenting time on their own.
If your child’s other parent has denied parenting time that you deserve, realize that you have the option to enforce parenting time by filing a motion in court. Sometimes, parents who deny parenting time face financial penalties and they can even face time behind bars.