Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota
Filing for Contempt of Court
I am going to be filing for Contempt of Court against my ex for non-payment of child support as ordered by the court during the change of custody that we went through.
I will be asking the court to find my ex in contempt of a Court Order. Now, can I ask the court for supervised visitation within the state of MN until my ex gets the Child Support current? She currently lives in Illinois.
I have other issues that I am not sure whether I should pursue now or wait until I get the child support issue over with. The other issue has to do with mental abuse of a child against the ex.
Please, any and all advice is needed.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Filing for Contempt of Court
Visitation is never connected to child support. The court always treats it as a separate and unrelated issue. Cutting a parent off from a child because of a money issue hurts the child - that's the thinking.
Without knowing more about your case, I would tend to think in terms of one thing at a time. Chances are that you are having your hearing in front of a child support magistrate who has no jurisdiction to hear or consider anything else anyway.
Good luck.
Re: Filing for Contempt of Court
Not paying child support is not a reason for supervised visitation. To get supervised visitation you must show some behavior by the noncustodial parent that can be linked to harm or potential harm to the child or children. Such behaviors include, among others, a substance abuse problem, criminal activity, physical or mental or emotional abuse, or neglect. You must move a court to get supervised visitation if it does not already exist. Good luck.
Ronald J. Lundquist
651-210-3105