Ok, this is kind of a stick situation so I will explain it the best I can. My ex husband and I have joint legal custody of our daughter, I have physical placement, he has periods of visitation. In our original divorce decree it does not specifically draw out the periods of placement during all holidays. The only ones that are mentioned are the major ones like Christmas and Thanksgiving. We recently went to court for other issues and the topic of driving for periods of placement were brought up. It was ordered that whoevers start of visitation it is shall pick up, so for example when she goes to his house on Friday for the weekend, he picks her up and then I pick her up on Sunday. This coming weekend is obviously Easter and is not his regular weekend. He sent me an email saying he would like to see our daughter for a bit on Sunday. In his email he ordered me to either bring her to him, or pick her up, he even specified the times that this would take place. My 14 year old son just got out of the hospital (behavioral) after being there 2 weeks and is going through some serious issues. I explained to my ex that this is a very important time with my son just getting out of the hospital and therefore I am not going to leave him for over an hour(thats how long it would take me to drop her off) nor am I going to make him ride in the car for that long, when this is the first time he is spending with family during this troubled time. I told him that this one time that if he wants to see her I am asking that he pick her up and drop her off. Just this once. He replied to my email saying that I am in contempt of court and that he is going to file papers against me for it. This coming from the man who violates our court order every single week, because he was ordered to visit her every Wednesday evening and stopped doing that. Am I really in contempt here and in any trouble, or is he just blowing smoke? I can't imagine that the courts would even bother with this issue seeing as I am asking for him to do it one time. Should I hold my ground here or what?

Kinicky, I can only imagine the kind of stress you are under. So, I will make this simple. No. You are not in contempt. He is indeed, an arse.

If Easter is not mentioned in the divorce decree, or any reference to it as a major holiday, you are safe. If this is not his weekend, you are well within your rights based upon that agreement, to say no to any requests he is making.

If the decree makes reference to Major Holidays, I believe this is a bit muddy with regard to Easter. Does it say anything about Major Holidays and if so, what exactly?

I am so sorry he is making this difficult for you. Considering the circumstances, he needs to work with you. If he refuses to work with you on this, and there is no reference to major holidays, as I stated, you don't have to do diddly and you are not in contempt. Hold your ground.

Thanks, I don't have my original divorce decree in front of me, but what if it did make reference to "all" holidays? Like I said before I have given him plenty of notice that I will not be able to take her or pick her up, but again just this one time. Other than this I always comply and try to work with him on anything.

If it does say that he has a right to see him on all the major holidays, it does become muddy if it doesn't mention Easter specifically. Considering you have given him enough notice and you can prove that you work with him on everything else, I doubt very much the courts will see it his way. Unless he is always quick to file about every little thing, frankly, I think he is blowing smoke up your wazoo and is trying to intimidate you. Tell him that this is all you can offer to him and as he is well aware, this is an isolated incident. Be sweet and nice and logical in your email. Then make sure you keep copies of all the emails that have gone back and forth with him on EVERYTHING you discuss, past, present, and future. As I said, the guy sounds like an arse. If you are reasonable and rational, have proof to back it up, he won't get very far.

P.S. I wanted to make sure you saw this. Stand your ground. Speak to him only through email about custody and divorce issues. Keep that paper trail. They will cover your butt.

P.S.S. you may want to call your lawyer. He/she should have the paperwork on file.

No you are not. Easter is not counted as a holiday that you have to share and being that it is not his weekend to have your daughter. He can provide all the transportation or don't allow him to have her. Next who would hold you in contempt if you trying to spend time with your some for personal reasons most especially seeing it is medical (behavioral).

I thank you all for your answers and just an update, (I know its been a while) :-( I stood my ground, Easter came and went, he never tried to come and get her or anything and never made a case out of it. So again thanks for the advice!!