Legal Question in Family Law in Louisiana

Custodial parent giving child choices during non-custodial parents visitation

My husband has very defined visitation with his out-of-state daughter. Now that she is 13 her mother continues to give my stepdaughter choices ie.,tell your dad that you want to go with me early, or ''you'll miss all the fun of whatever event'' if you don't tell your dad that he has to return you early. My stepdaughter feels very pressured and scared of her mother. She has tried to tell her mother that she likes her time with us but her mother will not listen. We have slightly altered visitation to suit her mothers requests 85% of the time. Our time is limited so we do not want to change it or reduce it in any way. When my stepdaughter really wants to do something that changes our visitation we always allow it. Because she lives out of state we only get 10 weeks a year. Is there anything legally we can do to take pressure off of my stepdaughers situation. Does my stepdaugher have a choice? At what age does my stepdaughter have choices like living with us or changing her visitation with us?


Asked on 12/26/04, 2:15 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Hardy Parkerson Retired Attorney; now Law Professor

Re: Custodial parent giving child choices during non-custodial parents visitatio

Dear LawGuru Friend,

All I can tell you is to comply exactly with the court order. If the x-wife wants to show up early to pick up the girl, just make her wait. If you are asked to take the girl back early, don't do it. Try to explain to the thirtee-year-old. If the situation gets bad enough, document everything and take the x-wife back to court to get this matter straightened outk, or to have custody turned over to you so that it is the x-wife who is having to produce the child on demand and such. Once a child gets as old as thirteen, the courts will usually consider very seriously, and give great weight to, the child's preference as to which parent he or she wants to live with as the domiciliary parent. There is more to it all than this, but this is something to think about. Good luck!

I sometimes tell my clients that their problems started they day they married that _ _ _ _ _ or _ _ _ _ _ _ _, and the will end the day they die. Don't try to guess what those blanks stand for! Again, good luck!

Sincerely,

Hardy Parkerson, Atty.

Lake Charles, LA

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Answered on 12/28/04, 8:45 pm


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