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mia_nu · Jun 2, 2008, 11:52 AM

I am the mother of two boys and have been having difficulty locating my children's father however when his time for visitation comes around especially on major holidays he always assumes he can take them when I don't know where he lives or how to contact them. The last time he saw them was for christmas '07 and hasn't had contact with them since. I've tried to get him into court and he failed to show twice, there WAS a bench warrant for his arrest for failure to appear however I am not sure if that warrant is still open or not and with father's day and our oldest sons' birthday 2 weeks away I'm not sure if he's going to show up or if I have to let the children go. After Christmas both kids cried that they didn't want to see him again. I'm at a loss and could use any kind of advice.

stinawords · Jun 2, 2008, 11:58 AM

The bench warrant is probably still open. The problem is that he won't get picked up on it unless he messes up like gets pulled over for speeding or something like that and they run his license. You can call the clerks office and see what they say about his visitation for fathers day. I hesitate to tell you to not allow it because if the visitation is court ordered then you could get in trouble for not allowing it. I would strongly recommend trying to get him into court one more time. If you do get a court date before fathers day (if that is his next visitation period) ask the judge what you can do. He/She will tell you what you legally can and can't do that way you don't end up being in contempt of court as well.

ScottGem · Jun 2, 2008, 12:14 PM

What you need to do is go back to the court and either get them to recind the visitation agreement or modify it to supervised visits or to allow you to withhold the visits pending verification of contact info.

I don't think a judge would think it unreasonable that you should have a way to get in contact with your kids when in his care (do they have cell phones?). But unless you can get such a modification, he can take you to court if you refuse to let him have them. Of course that plays right into your hands. Frankly, I would risk being cited for contempt to force him into court.

mia_nu · Jun 2, 2008, 01:52 PM

My children are too young for cell phones, in my opinion that is, ages 4 & 5

ScottGem · Jun 3, 2008, 05:57 AM

Yeah, that is a bit on the young side.