As a family law lawyer, I am always surprised how casually some parents take a parenting plan. We hear a lot of stories about the other parent disregarding terms of the parenting plan. We hear complaints of the other parent returning the children late, failing to return items of clothing, or denying holiday or summer parenting time. Failure to comply with parenting time orders can carry serious consequences if the other parent takes enforcement action after a willful violation of the parenting plan. One of the most serious enforcement remedies available for parenting plan violations is “contempt of court.” Parenting time orders are orders made by the court with the court’s authority. Willful disobedience of, resistance to, or obstruction of the court’s authority, process, order, or judgment is subject to a contempt motion.
Private attorneys and parties can bring “remedial” contempt actions for willful parenting plan violations. A remedial action is the court using its authority to remedy, or fix the non-compliance. A broad range of sanctions are available to get a parent to comply with the parenting plan. ORS 33.105 specifies what sanctions are available in a contempt action. Unless there is a contrary statute, the court can impose one or more of the following remedial sanctions:
- Payment of a sum of money sufficient to compensate a party for loss, injury or costs suffered by the party as the result of a contempt of court.
- Confinement for so long as the contempt continues, or six months, whichever is the shorter period.
- An amount not to exceed $500 or one percent of the defendant’s annual gross income, whichever is greater, for each day the contempt of court continues. The sanction imposed under this paragraph may be imposed as a fine or to compensate a party for the effects of the continuing contempt.
- An order designed to insure compliance with a prior order of the court, including probation.
- Payment of all or part of any attorney fees incurred by a party as the result of a contempt of court.
- A sanction other than the sanctions specified in paragraphs (a) to (e) of this subsection if the court determines that the sanction would be an effective remedy for the contempt.
Basically the court has the power to craft any remedy, including jail, to encourage compliance with a court order.
Liability for contempt can extend even beyond the parties. Third parties that interfere with parenting time orders may be held accountable through contempt.
What to do to avoid a contempt action? When your case is complete, get and retain a copy of your parenting plan. Read it. Know what it says. If you can, communicate with the other parent about parenting time to make sure you are on the same page. If you want to change the parenting plan and the other parent agrees, confirm the agreement in writing or email. Don’t unilaterally disregard the parenting plan. What to do if you are served with a contempt action? Talk to an experienced family law lawyer and get help. What to do if the other parent won’t follow the parenting plan? Talk to an experienced family law lawyer about what remedies you may have.
My ex husband has filed a contempt order against me because I have not followed the parenting plan set forth when our divorce decree took place. Before we divorced I was a stay-at-home-mom; so when we got the divorce and got the plan I was to meet him at 7pm half way for his weekend visitation. That happened for about 9 months; I got a new job that would not allow me to take off work early so I am not 3-1/2 hours late each visitation weekend. So, he has filed the contempt order. I am scared to death. What can happen to me since my employeer will not allow me to take off work? I have to work to support my 2 kids.
Stephanie,
Talk to an attorney in person right away. The consequences for contempt are potentially severe.
My ex-husband and I have a parenting plan that states that he is not to have any alcohol when our child is with him, as well as awarding me Sole Custody with all major decision making authority (including religious training). Our daughter, now 14, has told me that on multiple occasions, he has stopped at the local liquor store after picking her up on his designated weekends, routinely leaves her with other family or friends on his weekends, telling her that he has ‘other things to do’, and is forcing her to go to his church. During our mediation, I requested that he and his family not be allowed to take her to their church as I do not agree with their religious practices. Per our parenting plan, he is not to have alcohol in his possession when she is with him, as well as the fact that, as being the Sole Custodial parent, I have all major decision authority. Is there anything the court can do in this situation? He is clearly not following the parenting plan that he signed and agreed to and I’m not sure what my options for enforcement are.
Thanks!
Whenever one of the parents violates the parenting plan, technically legally speaking they can be convicted of being in contempt of court.
I have a interesting situation, My ex and I went to mediation in January of 2011 and came up with a parenting plan through mediation. With in 4-5 weeks of this agreement my oldest son 15 at the time could not get along with his mother and she “gave him back to me” she could not deal with him. He has been in my care now from then. Part of the mediated agreement stated that all 3 of the kids would stay in the prior school district that hey attended until the completion of high school. What I failed to mention is that we worked out a 50/50 joint custody in mediation. So all three of the children spent half the time with there mother and half the time with me. I have since been remarried and live about 10 miles from there old school. His mother agreed to let him change schools in september and he now attends a new high school and is doing great. In the 11 months he has had 1 over night visit on Thanksgiving in which his mother got so intoxicated she passed out. My two other children which are both girls 13 and 15 have since December 5th have also came to live with me on a full time basis also. My 15 year old daughter has had a VERY hard time getting along with her mother and from July to Sept had also lived with us full time. But now that all the children live with us we need to change them in schools. There mother has filed a Enforcement of Parenting plan with the courts and the court hearing is at the end of this month. I have stack of emails from the mother backing up all the irratic actions that she has taken including a email stating she wants me to take care of the children until she finishes school, gets a job, and gets help for her problems. She gives us no support for the kids and even when they where with her we had to provide almost everything for the girls. All of the kids want nothing to do with there mother anylonger and dont want to see her at all. I am in the process of filing a change of custody order with the courts but am wondering if I should bring the kids to court with me at the end of the month or not. And do I need to file a response with the courts prior to the hearing? Any help would be awesome. Thank you
Generally, bringing kids to court is a bad idea. Most judges think having a child testify for you and against the other parent shows very poor judgment. There are better ways to get a child’s position in front of a judge, including using an expert for a parenting time study, or an attorney for the children.
so my husband and I have costody of his 2 boys. Their mom has 3 weekends a month for visitation. We gained costody after she was with a abusive man for several years. Our order state that this man is not supposed to be in her home at anytime , even if the children are not there. As this man has several DV cases against him. We found out recently that he has been staying the night over there even when the boys are there. My question is are we in viloation of the visitation agreement if we keep them from going over there? Can we file contempt of court on her?
Nine-plus years ago I agreed to allow my then-12-year-old to live with his dad and signed a shared parenting agreement in Ohio allowing me bi-weekly and alternate holiday/b-day visitation. I spent an entire college fund on preventing this from happening, but I wasn’t going to win and my son was very belligerent about living with his dad. This and the fact that I didn’t want him to hate me in the future for not letting him go PLUS other personal considerations made me cave in. For awhile he visited regularly, even though it wasn’t always smooth-sailing. By the ninth grade, visitation dwindled to almost nothing; my phone calls were ignored/not returned for months at a time; and I was treated badly by his dad, my lawyer and Athens County. When I reported this to the lawyer, Tom Eslocker (Athens) and asked if it was illegal, he said, “Not really”. I got papers to file contempt charges, but was asked by the county what I really wanted them to do about a child’s unwillingness to come. They couldn’t very well take him by force. For years, I have watched in depression, sadness, anger, helplessness, horror as that family has marginalized me as a parent. My child has been taught to do the same. It’s inhumane treatment. I was a good parent, not a raging anything. I was really caught up in something beyond myself. My son is now 22; I rarely see him. That’s how it’s been for years. Do I have legal recourse for myself? Can I make a legal difference in the lives of others who have been mistreated by the legal system? Please help me.
Danielle:
Does the judgment say you can deny parenting time if he is present? Contempt is a good remedy for your situation. I encourage you to call to discuss.