Can a mother be in trouble for denying visitation?

Question: My son in Florida has court ordered visitation with his daughter 1 day per week at my home. His ex however has not let him visit with her for the past 3 weeks.

Every time she answers the telephone, she say's she'll call him back because they do not know what they are doing for the day, then does not return the call. So am I to assume she is in violation of her court order? And can she get in trouble for this?

Answer: Yes, the mother can get in trouble for not complying with a court order. It would be proper for you son to file an enforcement action with the court that entered the custody order. In most jurisdictions that would consist of filing a Motion for Contempt. Some jurisdictions such as Missouri have special enforcement actions just for physical custody violations called Motions for Family Access. The Motion for Family Access in Missouri was conceived as a quick and inexpensive method of dealing with relatively minor violations of a custody order. Family Access Motions can be filed and prosecuted without an attorney, although many people do retain an attorney. However, it is difficult to file and litigate a Motion for Contempt without an attorney in most jurisdictions. I suggest that your son speak with an attorney and find out the specific enforcement options available to him in Florida and then determine if he needs to retain an attorney to bring the action to court.

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