Enforcing Visitation Rights: What You Need to Know
Hi, this is Clint Hastings. I’m a Tulsa visitation attorney here in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I focus on fathers’ rights. Today, I want to talk about how to enforce your visitation rights when mom is wrongfully withholding them.
There is a statute that could allow her to withhold the visits if she, in good faith, suspects neglect or abuse. But often—more often than not—it is just mom withholding on a whim or because she has some schedule she thinks is more important than your schedule. Often, I’ll hear mothers say the kids don’t want to visit and withhold on that ground, but that is not a valid reason. They should be encouraging visitation as much as possible. Every court order for custody is supposed to include a statement that requires the custodial parent to facilitate visits with the non-custodial parent.
Filing a Motion to Enforce Visitation Rights
Now, if they withhold the visitation, what you need to do is file a motion to enforce your visitation rights. This is usually a pretty standard motion. It needs to be set within 21 days by the court, per statute. They have to resolve the issue within 45 days, per statute. Some of the provisions for doing so include that they can order a makeup visitation, they can require the mother to post a money bond in an amount that would ensure that the visitation is facilitated going forward, and they would have to do that to get the bond money back. The judge can order mediation, and they can eventually—if this is a problem enough times—the judge may even change custody based on this wrongful withholding of visitation.
Recovering Costs
Also, you can get your attorney’s fees and court costs paid by the mother if she has wrongfully withheld.
Consultation Available
Look over the site, let us know if you have any questions, and maybe we’ll make a video about it. To discuss your specific case and explore your options, please contact the Tulsa family lawyer at 918-962-0900 for a low-cost consultation.
