Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia
I have primary custody of my 5 year old daughter. Her father is supposed to get her two nights a week and he is supposed to pay child support on the 1st of each month. We have a first right of refusal clause in the parenting plan. There have been numerous ocassions that he just decides not to get her. And more than half the time she is with his mother instead of with him and I am not offered the opportunity to keep her and don't find out until our bedtime call. One time he left her at his friend's house because he had to go to work and I didn't find out until the next day. I have ALWAYS offered him the opportunity to keep her if I needed to have someone watch her, but he has always been unavailable. I also always make sure he knows if she spends the night elsewhere and give his phone number, as well as my own, for emergencies and so he can still have his bedtime call with her. He is also supposed to have her two consecutive weeks in the summer, alternating school breaks and various holidays during the year, but he usually chooses not to take her during these times since he still has to work and "it's not like they're going anywhere." Child support is consistently at least two weeks late. Is there anything I can do to make him follow the court ordered parenting plan and pay child support on time? Someone told me I can't push the child support issue unless he's 30 days late and he's never been more than 26 days late.
1 Answer from Attorneys
(1) You can force someone to visit.
(2) While you could complain about late support, it would not make sense to spend thousands of dollars on a contempt case over someone being a few weeks behind.