Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
Child custody
I have sole custody - ex has
visitation. Children are 10 and 6 and
have refused to go to visitation. He
has agreed they don't have to go. He
never shows up for any extra events,
he never calls them, he never stops
by, he never answers phone when
they leave messages, he never
answers me. He only texts and
emails. They've seen him be nasty to
me. The older daughter sent him
emails about why she is hurt and
angry and he nevers answers but
yells at me in messages thinking I
sent the emails. He has never hit
them, but she says she's scared he's
going to be mad at her. She asked
him to see her counselor with her
and he won't go. She's asked to have
dinner with him and he won't go. I
tell them to try to go over and see if
it works. I make every effort to try to
talk to him about it but he is
extremely uncooperative. Am I in
any jeopardy of losing the full
custody because I say okay when he
says they don't have to go to his
house? He keeps texting telling me
one day I will lose the children.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Child custody
First, children do not have the right to refuse to go on visitations. Second, if Dad does ever actually try to exercise his visitation correctly and he doesn't get the kids, you could end up in trouble with the Court and even face jail time.
That said, as long as he is not appearing at the location designated in your order/decree, at the time specified in your order/decree he would have a very had time showing you were denying him visitation and using that against you either in an enforcement action or as a basis to modify custody. His failure to exercise his visitation and his behavior towards his daughter could possibly be grounds to change his visitation.