Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Visitation denial

If the court has entered an order for visitation based on your agreement, you can be found to be in contempt of court if you stop the visitation, but if you can show good evidence of a likelihood of real harm to the child if visitation occurs, a contempt finding may have little or no real consequences. If there is not yet a court order, and you have valid reasons for stopping visitation, there could be no contempt of court. But you should have a real basis for your belief that the child's "health and well-being" are at risk, not just resentment because the father chooses to leave the child with family members and does not personally spend time with her. Unless the family members are doing things which endanger or harm your daughter, she might be better off visiting with them than with an indifferent father. The court is most likely to believe that in the long run it is better for your daughter to have at least some brief contact with her father during the visitation than to have none.