Denver Post-Decree Divorce Tips: When to Intervene with a Spouse Not Upholding Their Custodial Responsibilities
Unfortunately, divorce is often preceded by a breakdown of a relationship, and it's made even more complicated when children are involved. This rift can turn ugly and impact the divorcing spouses’ co-parenting relationship that they will still have to maintain for the foreseeable future.
If you are struggling with a former spouse who simply isn't following the divorce decree when it comes to your kids, here's what to know:
The withholding of parenting time
Your divorce decree should contain a parenting schedule. This essentially outlines custody and visitation, although Colorado uses the terms "parenting time" and "parenting responsibilities" instead. This schedule is meant to be followed and is part of an order issued by a court.
When a parent is withholding visitation granted by the parenting schedule from the other parent on occasion, that parent should keep track of the dates and times visitation was withheld and make up the time they missed. If the other parent does not allow you to make up your missed time, you can and should take other measures to ensure you receive the time you are supposed to have with your children.
If your co-parent isn't sticking to your parenting schedule and won't allow you to make up missed time, speak to an experienced family law attorney for help. Your attorney can reach out to your co-parent or their attorney, and that alone may be enough to settle the issue. If it's not, your attorney will help you take the next step.
Should your co-parent withhold visitation completely, it's an immediate violation of your court order, and you have options. Your attorney, for example, can file in court to enforce your visitation rights. What happens next depends on your case, but if your spouse doesn't comply, the court may award more or all of the parenting time to you.
It's important to note that you should never withhold child support or try to force the situation yourself. Child support is not tied to visitation, so you can not withhold it over missed parenting time - and you can find yourself in legal hot water if you do because you're now violating a court order. You also cannot take the child when you want or refuse to return them to the other parent when it's their parenting time to make up for lost visitation. This is actually considered kidnapping, and you can end up in serious trouble for it both in family court and in criminal court.
The failure to pay child support
Paying their stated share of child support as stipulated in the divorce decree is a parent's legal obligation. This money is meant to help cover the costs of raising the child, and the failure to pay it is taken very seriously in Colorado courts. If your former spouse is not paying their child support, you should reach out to a family law attorney for immediate help. There are several ways to enforce child support, and your attorney will help you access them.
Remedies to enforce child support payments start with your attorney going to court on your behalf and asking them to hold the non-paying parent in contempt for violating the child support order. Once the case is in the court's hands, the judge can issue different orders to enforce support payment. These include garnishing the non-paying parent's wages or assets--such as a bank account--and placing liens on personal or real property, such as a car or a house.
A judge can also order the local child support enforcement unit to go after other potential sources of money the non-paying parent has, such as lottery winnings, federal income tax refunds, winnings from gambling, unemployment benefits, and income earned from the State of Colorado.
A judge may also find a delinquent parent to be in “punitive” (sometimes called, “criminal”) contempt which can result in a jail sentence of up to 180 days. A court may also find a party to be in “remedial” (sometimes called, “civil”) contempt which would result in an order to cure the deficiency within a specified period of time. Failure to do that could result in a jail sentence.
There are other penalties for nonpayment of child support as well, and these penalties are designed to push the delinquent parent into paying. A paying parent who owes more than six months' worth of support and is paying less than half of what they are supposed to, for example, could see work-related or recreational licenses suspended. A parent who is 60 days or more behind on payments or who owes $500 or more may find a negative entry on their credit report from the child support enforcement unit. A parent who is more than 30 days behind on child support could have their drivers' license suspended by the DMV. Your attorney will assess your situation and help you pursue the options most likely to produce the payment.
A custodial agreement can be enforced with the help of a lawyer who has experience in family law. Call Colorado family law lawyer Mitch Geller for a no-obligation consultation at 720-696-7897.