Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: Child not wanting to go with father

If you are under court order to surrender your son for visitation with his father on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Fridays of each month, you need to follow the court order until it is modified.

Otherwise, the Judge can hold you in contempt of court. If you read your Final Decree of Divorce, it will cover all the things that can happen to you if you are held in contempt of court.

As a divorced mother for over 13 years, I found that my child cried for a few minutes during the exchange. However, several times I called her Dad approx. 5 minutes later and she was laughing and singing in his car.

As a concerned mother, I would encourage you to take your child to a child counselor to learn ways to help him adjust to the exchanges. Perhaps there are some simple things you can do to make this event less stressful for him.

He will be visiting his father until he turns 18. Doesn't it make sense to make the visits less stressful for him?

If you have a reason to fear your son visiting his father, you need to file a modification.

Best of luck.

If you live in the Houston area, I offer a free phone consultation at 713-847-6000.

Re: Child not wanting to go with father

Fran is right. You must follow the court order, until a new court order takes its place. Failure to follow the court order could result in contempt of court which includes the power to put you in jail. The child's crying is not enough reason for a judge to modify the decree and deny visitation. There are classes available to help parents with kids in divorce situations, and I encourage you to get into a support group or counselling to learn new ways to reduce the stress.