Sometimes, problems come up, and visitation orders aren’t followed. For example, your child might get sick and not be well enough to travel to the other parent’s home, or you might have an emergency and need to head to a family member’s home. There are times when accidents and one-off events happen and impact a custody schedule, but on the whole, people understand that life is unpredictable.

What’s not ok is when a parent willfully violates a custody order. An example of this would be a mother who says time and time again that the child can’t go to see the other parent because of an illness that may not be real or when a parent simply doesn’t bring back a child on time.

What should you do if your ex violates a custody order?

It depends on the severity of the violation. In cases where your child is missing, it makes perfect sense to call 911 and get the authorities involved, especially if you don’t know where your child is. On the other hand, a parent who calls to say there was an emergency and that they’ll be late shouldn’t be held to that same standard. After all, emergencies do happen, and you would want someone to give you a break if you were in the same position.

There is a difference between interruptions in custody due to willful actions and unexpected events. If you believe your ex is willfully violating custody orders, then you should speak to your attorney and reach out to the police if you believe it’s an emergency.