Timesharing is often one of the greatest challenges for parents who decide to split up. Each wish to have as much time with their child(ren) as possible, but complicated schedules can lead to frustration and hard feelings. It is easy to slip into behaviors that can land a parent in trouble for parenting time interference.
In many cases, the interference is indirect. Rather than purposefully depriving the other parent of their time with the child, these behaviors disrupt communication or have small but continuous impacts on parenting time. Although these behaviors may just seem like bad habits, they can land a parent in contempt of a court order – which can result in hefty fines or even jail time.
Showing up late to exchange custody
If the custody agreement requires parents to exchange custody of their child at certain times and dates, and one parent is consistently late dropping the child off, they may have an interference issue.
Ignoring calls or texts
Hitting “ignore” when a call from you ex comes through may not seem like a big deal but refusing to let your child communicate with their other parent can easily become a problem. A pattern of disrupting communication can be seen as a violation of a custody order.
Connecting parenting time to child support
In some cases, a parent who feels they are being denied parenting time might stop paying child support. Or, if the other parent fails to pay child support, the parent receiving support might decide to withhold parenting time. Both choices constitute parenting time interference. Child custody and child support are distinct legal issues and shouldn’t be tied up together.