Can I Terminate Parenting Time if Ex Doesn’t Spend It With Kids
How is your ex-spouse spending the children’s parenting time? You are the guardian. Your ex-spouse picks up the child and drops the child off at grandma. The child is left with the uncle while your ex-spouse enjoys parenting time. Your former partner never interacts with the child. You want to terminate the parenting time with your ex-spouse. Can I terminate parenting time if the ex doesn’t spend it with kids?
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No will be the response. You won’t be able to do it. Your opinion is irrelevant. You take care of business during your own parenting time. In their parenting time, your ex-spouse is free to pursue their activities. It’s not good if your ex-spouse exposes your child to a regular pot smoker. It’s also bad if your child is in danger while your ex-spouse is exercising their parenting time. Have your lawyer submit a motion. Tell the court about the parenting time arrangements with your ex-spouse. If you don’t inform the court about your concerns over parenting time, they won’t know. The child’s best interests should always come before your own, no matter what.
Do you have a say in parenting style or how a co-parent uses parenting time?
A parent may have no problem leaving their children with a grandparent or even uncles and aunts. Perhaps it has to do with parenting style. They may be mimicking the parenting style of their parents. You are limited in your ability to affect the other parent’s opinions and ideas. Your children are being raised differently by them than you are. And as a co-parent, you must accept that as a fact of life. Both parents are equally correct and incorrect. Parenting style is a question of preference and viewpoint. You are aware that the people in mid-Michigan are quite diverse. They might use parenting methods that are damaging to developing children. They engage in parenting techniques that are harmful to children’s development.
A parent cannot be forced to use a certain parenting approach by the court. Courts stay away from debates or discussions about parenting practices. Parenting style is less important to them than the quality of the time spent parenting. Your concerns can simply be one-off instances of parenting mistakes. By simply talking to each other, it can be resolved.
Parenting techniques may need to vary depending on the child. It is determined by their parents and the other individuals in their life. One parent probably has a different personal style than the other. If that’s the case, you must make a compromise. Keep in mind that you are establishing the groundwork for future success right now. Every choice a child eventually makes as they mature has a foundation. Their parents’ parenting style lays the foundation for this. The growth of children and specific parenting approaches are related.
Under what circumstances can you deny or terminate parenting time?
In Michigan, it is illegal to deprive non-custodial parents of their parenting time. The unvarnished truth is parenting time is a judicial order. The order is a result of the court’s legal authority. Without a court order, you cannot contest parenting time in Michigan. You run the risk of being found in contempt of court if you refuse to give the other parent parenting time. In Michigan, a valid justification is required every time parenting time is denied. Any motion or petition to terminate parenting time will be denied.
Parents may reach a variety of agreements during the divorce process. Any parenting plan must obtain court approval. Any deal that the parents come to will frequently be approved by the court. The court can reject the parents’ agreed-upon parenting arrangement. It will do so when there is serious concern about one of the parents. If a parent has any of the following, the court will reject any parenting arrangement:
[ a ] A criminal record,
[ b ] A history of drug or alcohol misuse,
[ c ] A history of sexual or domestic abuse, or
[ d ] Other issues that may be seen as harming the children.
Giving the children access to both parents is in their best interests. This is the court’s “default” position. Without a strong reason, it won’t veer off that path. The stability concern is the main factor guiding these accords. The court acknowledges that it is in the children’s best interests to have access to both parents. They need to have a regular schedule with both parents.
The child’s best interests will be taken into consideration while allocating parenting time. It is generally believed that a child’s best interests are served by having a close relationship with both of his or her parents. A parent shall be granted parenting time. Parenting time is granted in a certain frequency, duration, and manner. It is reasonably calculated to foster a close bond between the child and the parent.
What can you do if denying or terminating parenting time is not an option?
Now that you know you can’t end parenting time once granted to your co-parent, it is time to think of a workaround. An option on how to live with sharing parenting time with a co-parent. Check your judgment of divorce. Look at the provision on custody and parenting time. You either follow it or modify its provisions. There are rules and statutory provisions you can abide by. There’s also the Michigan Parenting Time Guideline or referred to as the Guideline.
Don’t discount the “guideline” just yet; there has been a lot of work put into it. Finding just a few minutes to read now can save you a lot of trouble in the future. This is the way to get started in the right direction.
Don’t focus on what your co-parent is doing in their own time. Focus more on maximizing your own parenting time. You don’t even have to be creative or innovative. The state has spent a lot of taxpayer money to publish the guidelines. Go get a copy, read it, and use the suggested parenting schedule. When creating your schedule, keep the following things in mind:
[ 1 ] Maintaining contact with each parent at least once every few days. Allow them to take “breaks.”
[ 2 ] Consistency and predictability.
[ 3 ] The child’s developmental requirements are taken into consideration. An example. Shorter, more frequent blocks of parental time may be most effective with infants. Infants on a breastfeeding schedule. The parents can arrange for the sharing of breast milk.
[ 4 ] Nighttime parenting time is spent with both parents. This is most significant when one or both of the parents had taken care of the child’s daily needs before.
[ 5 ] A parent may not regularly care for the child or is not at ease caring for the child. Think about a “graduated schedule,” with minimal parenting time to start. Increase frequency and duration of parenting time when parenting milestones are achieved.
[ 6 ] Parents can be far apart. Parenting time should be scheduled as frequently as possible. Parents may have to travel for parenting time.
[ 7 ] The opportunity for both parents to go with the child to special occasions. Occasions such as birthdays, religious holidays, and doctor’s appointments.
[ 8 ] An extended parenting time schedule that, as the child gets older, may entail longer periods. It can mean many back-to-back overnights.
It should be simple to agree on a parenting schedule. You can make it happen if you and your partner are regularly communicating. Try to make parenting time work. Even though you might not always agree, you can put the child’s interests first. It should be simple to come to an understanding. In the event of a disagreement, the guideline offers recommendations for how to settle it.
Friend of the Court (FOC) offices provide alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services. It can help parents resolve custody, parenting time, and child support disagreements. Judges frequently order divorcing parents to talk things out with a mediator. To get ADR services, parents can also use the Community Dispute Resolution Program. Co-parents can select a private mediator.
Following the parenting time order is the best strategy for hassle-free parenting time. If the parents are unable to agree, an investigation can be started. The court can learn more about what happened during the parenting time.
The courts will attempt to avoid separating a family wherever possible. They will avoid doing so even when using the force of the state is necessary. The court will not separate parents from their children unless there are special reasons. When it comes to children, best interest has long been a topic of discussion. A child’s initial best interest is to be in the custody of caring, responsible parents.
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