Legal Question in Family Law in Oklahoma
Visitation Enforcement
I have 2 daughters, one 15.5 the other almost 8. I live in Texas where the divorce and custody decision was made. My x moved to Oklahoma almost 6 years ago. My 15 year old is refusing to come for visitation (encouraged by her mother). My 15 year old says "that her mother can't make her come and if she doesn't come neither does her sister" She "wants to be with her friends" She is becoming more and more resistant to seeing me to which her mother is very happy about. What can I do to be sure I have access to my children even when they don't want to come? Do I file a contempt order on their mother for not enforcing visitation? How do I go about filing one and what will happen?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Visitation enforcement
There is a recent Texas case on this subject. The gist of it is that to avoid contempt, the custodial parent must prove that he or she tried very hard to make the child go, but the child refused. It's a matter of proof.
Visitation Denial
Mr. Verner is quite correct. The recent Texas Supreme Court decision give added ammuntion for parents in this unfortunately common situation. The child cannot "choose" not to come; the onus is on the parent and she cannot simply respect the child's "wishes" to violate the court order.
The proper procedure is to file a motion with the court that has jurisdiction for enforcement and/or contempt. This is a complicated process as the proof aspect will require some pre-hearing discovery i.e. an interview with the child and the mother -- and yes, this can become quite costly.
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