What Do I Do If My Ex-Spouse Doesn’t Show Up to Visitation?

What Do I Do If My Ex-Spouse Doesn’t Show Up to Visitation?

It can be frustrating when your ex-spouse deliberately ignores court orders after a divorce. When you have concerns about how your Oklahoma divorce is affecting your children, this can worrisome. Visitation hours are designed to help children adapt to a divorce, but this can be prevented when your ex-spouse never shows up. Feel free to talk to an Oklahoma family attorney if you have questions on how to fix this.

Effects of Parents Avoiding Visitation

A parent not showing up to visitation may not sound like a big deal and it may not be in every case. Some children might prefer things this way while other children What If My Ex-Spouse Does Not Show Up to Visitation?might feel heartbroken. Part of the reason courts enforce visitation hours is to uphold the best interests of the child standard.

Common positive effects of visitation include helping the child heal from the divorce, letting the child maintain a relationship with both parents, and decreasing the chances of behavior problems. Divorce can affect children in a variety of ways. What makes visitation so important is the way visitation can decrease the chances of the negative effects.

However, some ex-spouses will still not show up for visitation. Other ex-spouses might also interfere with visitation by:

  • Bribing the child to stay with them longer
  • Making their child feel guilty about visitation
  • Using their child to communicate messages with the other ex-spouse
  • Making false accusations to avoid visitation

If you suspect your ex-spouse is trying to manipulate your child, consider contacting an Oklahoma City divorce lawyer to explore your options. A lawyer can help you figure out what steps you can take to fix this.

My Ex-Spouse Did Not Show Up to Visitation

When your ex-spouse does not show up to visitation, this can make your child feel rejected or unloved. In some cases, visitation is not allowed by the court. This often happens if the ex-spouse was abusive in the past or has the potential to harm the child during visitation.

For cases where visitation is allowed, a parent who does not show up to visitation defeats the purpose of visitation. However, Oklahoma visitation laws mainly focus on enforcing visitation when a parent withholds visitation. This means you can take legal action if your ex-spouse prevents you from visiting your child.

Whether this same legal action can be taken when a parent fails to show up to visitation is less clear. Oklahoma courts order minimal visitation hours and encourage extra visitation hours when possible. The question of what you can do when a parent never shows up is something a lawyer might be able to help you figure out.

Family Lawyer in Oklahoma City

Life can become stressful when your ex-spouse refuses to follow court orders. Consider seeking answers from an Oklahoma divorce lawyer who can help you figure out what legal actions you can take. You can contact the Putnam Law Office by dialing (405)-849-9149 for a consultation today. Our experienced lawyers might be to help you obtain the outcomes you want. Mr. Putnam is an experienced attorney in Oklahoma City, OK who is prepared to help you defend your claim.

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