10 Reasons Why You Want to Avoid Parental Interference |
Posted: July 30, 2018 |
Whether your child custody arrangement has recently changed or you’re newly divorced, it is important for you to know your rights and responsibilities and how to avoid many of the most common mistakes faced by divorcing parents. One such problem is known as parental interference. Once a custody and visitation schedule has been approved by a judge, it is very important that you stick to it. If you interfere too much in another parent's child visitation time, you could cause problems with your former spouse, the court, or your children. It is well worth it to consider the top ten reasons you should avoid engaging in parental time interference. 1. It Makes You Look Bad with the Judge Even if you were simply trying to get in touch with your children for innocent reasons, it can make you look bad with the judge if the custody order that he or she recently created has been totally disregarded by you. Even in a custody case in which you have received generous parenting time, you never want to look bad in front of the court or make it appear as though you have problems following directions and court orders. 2. It Might Cause Unnecessary Drama with the Other Parent Understandably, you would be upset if the other parent was unreasonably interfering with your time with your children. This could halt the benefits that you thought you were receiving as a result of the court order handed down by the judge or the parenting time agreement that you came to terms with while working with the other parent. The other parent could get frustrated and try to cut you off from interacting with your children entirely while they are at his or her house. This additional stress and frustration is easily avoided by staying out of the other parent's rightful time. 3. It Could Cause Legal Problems with Your Case If the other parent finds that you are consistently interfering with their time, they might take legal action and file motions and hearings. This could cause you to take more time off work and have to appear for the management of future legal issues in the court case. The other parent may become so frustrated after trying to reach out to you individually to curb this issue that they may have no choice but to go through the courts, causing additional legal problems. 4. It'll Give Your Kids More Stress Your kids will undoubtedly be more stressed out if they feel the tension between you and the other parent. This is one of the leading reasons why many parents choose to go forward with divorce to begin with. They recognize that their children have suffered as a result of ongoing conflict in the home and will work as hard as possible to agree to a parenting schedule that minimizes the conflict between you and the other parent. 5. More Legal Expenses May Be Required for You to Respond If the other parent fights back in a legal sense by filing motions, hearings, or even a protection order, this could mean you're going to have to spend additional time with your attorney and could lead to associated expenses. If the other parent prepares a compelling case, you could be looking at a great deal of extra money spent arguing that you are not interfering with their time. 6. This Can Make Your Children Feel More Confused Trying to set up two households represents enough change for your children to begin with. Suddenly trying to pull them back and forth between two houses, or interfering with the time they have scheduled with the other parent can make them feel confused about whether it's appropriate to answer the phone, accept Skype calls, or set aside time to see you when they are with the other parent. You should first go through the other parent in order to reach out to your children during that other parent's time. Explaining your reasoning for doing so is important, because a sudden interference directly with the child could be more problematic. 7. This Puts More Stress on Outside Parties Outside parties, like teachers and child caregivers, may be confused about whose parenting time is whose. This means that it is stressful for those third parties who may not realize the exact specifics of your custody and visitation schedule, especially since they will be responsible for following state and federal laws and reviewing court orders specifically. For example, trying to intervene when the other parent is scheduled to pick up the children from school can make it difficult for these outside parties, and can cause tension between you and those individuals. 8. It Makes the Children Feel as Though They Are Being Pulled in Two Directions Even if you believe that your reasoning for trying to interact with the children outside of your own time is worthwhile, it can make your children feel as though they are still in the middle of an ongoing fight. They may not know when they are allowed to visit with the other parent, and it may make them feel uncomfortable or as though they are trying to protect you by minimizing the conflict. 9. This Can Lead to Psychological Testing and Invasion of Your Privacy If your former spouse argues that your interference of their parenting time is a result of parental alienation or psychological problems on your part, the court may order psychological testing. This could be seen as a serious invasion of your privacy, but if the other party has grounds to indicate that you have engaged in this behavior on more than one occasion, it may be required of you. In addition to the legal expenses mentioned above, you may also be responsible for paying professionals to evaluate your own psychological state. 10. You Could Lose Custody Overall If you are consistently engaged in interfering with the other parent's time and refuse to discontinue, this may be used by the other spouse and his or her attorney to reduce your parenting time overall. You could even lose custody of your children if you are not careful. It can be very dangerous to engage in this kind of behavior if you do not have the support of an experienced family law attorney to guide you through every aspect of your divorce and child custody case.
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