Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Violation of Visitation Agreement

My husband's ex violated the visitation agreement this weekend. My husband's visitation is E/O weekend to commence on Friday @ 5 pm & end on Sunday @ 5 pm. The drop-off location is the paternal grandparents' home. On Friday, my husband and his mother were not there (my husband was en route), but the paternal grandfather was on the premises. My husband's exwife picked up the child (he gets off the schoolbus at the paternal grandparents' home) and did not return him for visitation. The order indicates that visitation is at the home of the paternal grandparents; therefore the grandparents can receive the child. We called the sheriff's dept and they said that they couldn't really do anything and advised us to go back to court and then they could do something. But we already have an order. Can't the sheriff's dept use the existing order and intervene and inform the mother of her obligation to abide by the order and possibly even transport the child (we hope it doesn't get to that point). The mom refuses to work with us on any level so there was no way to call & ask her to release the child . She has done this once before. We don't want to make it even harder on my stepson, but we would like to see him. What else can we do?


Asked on 12/18/06, 4:47 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Violation of Visitation Agreement

No, I'm afraid Sheriff's Departments are naturally adverse to becoming involved in domestic relations cases which involve the enforcement(or even the facilitation) of visitation or other orders deriving from such cases.

A parent who consistently violates a court order (for visitation or whatever)must be brought back into the court that entered that order on contempt charges with a request for suitable sanctions that may have some chance of deterring such behaviour in the future. There really is no other remedy.

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Answered on 12/18/06, 8:20 pm


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