Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
I have court ordered visitation with my daughter every other weekend and one night a week.
She spent most of her winter break with me. My husband says because of that he does not want to let me have her for my schedled weekend. Can he do that? Don't you have to follow the schedule reguardless what comes up inbetween or are there acceptions?
2 Answers from Attorneys
No visitation order can contemplate the twists and turns family's schedules encounter. People are expected to be reasonable with one another when things come up and cooperate when adapting to changes. That said, the order is the order and either party can seek to enforce it to the letter. If the order permitted you to have visitation during winter break and provides for the usual every other weekend/one night per week pattern, then that is what must be done. If the winter break thing was not provided for in the order and was just to accommodate one or the other of you, then I think you'll need to consider whether skipping this weekend is fair under the circumstances.
Your husband has no right to violate the court order just because he allowed you to have her for additional time beyond the order. It's best if parents can cooperate as things come up and adjust the schedule as needed, but the purpose of the order is to set up a schedule beyond the control of either parent.