Answer and Counterclaim

I want to file an Answer and Counterclaim to the paperwork my spouse has filed for our divorce. She wants to follow the line in our Separation Agreement that states “both parties will agree to work out visitation” but I have found that it always works in her favor and I am missing my weekends, holidays, etc. She agreed verbally to an agreement on our every other weekend, holidays and summer vacations but does not want to put this in writing. Should I file the answer and counterclaim and if so how do I go about doing this? Can you provide an example perhaps? I agree with everything else. The only exception is I would like to spell out the agreed upon visitation schedule to eliminate future confusion. She has filed for the divorce in Brunswick County, NC. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If she filed a complaint for divorce then you can file a counterclaim for child custody. If you haven’t already settled ED and alimony with a separation agreement, then you will also want to file for those as well, if applicable, because those two claims die upon entry of a judgment of divorce.

You may not think it necessary to have visitation in writing now, but who knows about later. Get that in writing. That she doesn’t want it writing is ringing alarm bells here. And be very specific. A sheriff can’t enforce every other weekend (who knows where the child was last weekend). You need something like the father shall have the children on weekends where the Friday is between the 1st and the 7th or between the 14th and 21st or after the 28th.