Family courts throughout California make difficult determinations about the custody and visitation of children. Oftentimes their final orders leave parents struggling to cope with less than ideal parenting schedules, but ultimately courts establish physical and legal custody plans as well as visitation orders that meet the best interests of the children. When those carefully crafted orders are violated, parents who suffer due to the actions of others generally have rights.
According to the laws of California, when a parent attempts to interfere with the custody and visitation rights of the other parent, the interfering parent can lose rights to the child. The interfering parent may be subject to diminished custodial time or may lose the right to have unsupervised visitation. These restrictions are imposed only after a review of the claims made by the parents and the reviewing court will consider the benefits children generally derive from spending time with both of their parents before altering the child custody and visitation plan.
If a parent finds that the other parent is interfering with time with the children, there are options. The parent may choose to bring this important custody and visitation matter before a relevant family court. A judicial sanction may be necessary to force a non-complaining parent into respecting a court’s custody and visitation order.
Parents can make their own custody and visitation plans and then have those plans given judicial weight through court approval. Once a court signs off on such a family law order the parties subject to it must abide by it. Those who do not can incur penalties that restrict their rights.
