I recently read an article about a woman who temporarily lost custody of her children for not following the terms of her court ordered parenting plan, as ordered through her divorce agreement. When a person signs a divorce agreement that includes parental responsibilities and different clauses related to child-rearing, those are set in stone. Unless you go back to the Jefferson County Court to have the orders modified, there are serious repercussions for not following the orders. The mother had her children taken from her for not following the religious-upbringing clause of their divorce agreement. She had agreed to raise the children in a strictly Orthodox Jewish home. The mother, however, came out as gay, which the father felt conflicted with the Hasidic Judaism traditions they agreed to raise their children under.
Contempt of Court and Violation of Court Orders Related to Child Custody in Arvada
When one parent feels that the other is violating a court order, they can file a motion with the court to re-evaluate the situation. Sometimes, the other party will be found in contempt of court. The consequences for a contempt of court finding include time spent in the Jefferson County Jail, loss of parental responsibilities, or, like for the woman above, loss of child custody. If the judge truly feels that not following the order is hurting the children, they can take away your parenting time. The woman above was initially stripped of all parenting time, then granted supervised visits, and finally given back custody of her children – though the process took over 3 years.
Modifying Court Orders, Divorce Agreements, or Parenting Agreements
If, after signing a divorce or child custody agreement, something changes and the order no longer works for you, you can file a motion to modify these agreements. The judge will look for evidence that your circumstances have changed and that the changes necessitate a modification or amendment to the agreement. An experience family law attorney will be able to walk you through this process, with the knowledge of exactly what a judge is looking for to make sure you have the best possibility of success.
If you are in need of an expert family law attorney, call the Pearman Law Firm at 720-259-9528 for a initial phone consultation.
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