Can My Ex Refuse My Holiday Visitation?

The holiday season can be tough for many individuals to get through for varying reasons. You may relate to this feeling if this is the first one since your divorce from your former spouse, and these celebrations will inevitably look different for you than in years past. You may feel better about the situation overall if you are scheduled to spend these days with your child. However, you may find yourself in a terrible situation where your former spouse is unwilling to transfer your child to you at the planned times. If so, please read on to discover whether your ex can legally refuse to allow your holiday visitation and how one of the seasoned Clarksville child custody lawyers at Fendley and Birch can ensure you get to spend time with your child this season.

What are court-ordered holiday visitation rights?

When the Tennessee family court arranges a child custody agreement during your divorce proceedings, it may incorporate a holiday visitation schedule. This is essentially an outline that designates which parent is entitled to spend time with the child during specific holidays and school breaks. Namely, on Easter, spring break, summer vacation, Thanksgiving, Christmas, winter break, etc. This schedule may even go as far as to detail the start and end times for visitation on each day, the transportation responsibilities of each parent, and the location at which the child will transfer from one parent to another.

Now, a holiday visitation schedule may look different for every family. For example, in one child custody arrangement, a court may order each parent to alternate the holidays they have their child each year (i.e., one year they’ll get them for Thanksgiving and the next year they’ll get them for Christmas). Or, in another arrangement, they may have one parent spend the same holiday with their child every year, based on their disclosed religious observations or other important family traditions.

Can my ex refuse to allow my holiday visitation?

If it has not been emphasized enough already, you should know that a holiday visitation schedule is a court order. With that said, if your ex refuses to observe your holiday visitation rights, they may be viewed as committing a serious violation. In response, you must seek legal remedy and file a motion to enforce the agreement with the Tennessee family court that ordered your child custody arrangement in the first place.

When the court intervenes, your ex may be held in contempt. This means that they may be up against fines or even jail time. They may even be expected to pay your lawyer’s fees, as they essentially forced your hand to address this issue in court. Ultimately, the court may impose temporary restrictions on their standing custody rights. That is, the court may reduce the number of holidays they get to spend with your child going forward. Or, the court may mandate that they sacrifice some of their scheduled parenting time to compensate for your missed visits.

To conclude, before you step into a Tennessee family courtroom, you must seek one of the competent Clarksville family lawyers to stand by your side. Please contact our office, Fendley and Birch, as soon as you are ready.