Hi,
In the court approved custody order, my now ex-wife and I agreed that neither of us will have any overnights with the opposite sex on the nights we have custody of our children. Two years after the divorce, the situation has changed and now there are occasional nights that a person of the opposite sex is in the house with our children. The person is a parent also and has no history of anything that is inappropriate.
What ramifications and recourse is available?
Currently, you are violating your order. It doesn’t matter that it is two years on or that the other person has no negative history. If your order says you can’t have overnight guests of the opposite sex during your custody, then you can’t do that. Sometimes parties put a time limit on this condition, but if there is no time limit, then you cannot do it ever. If it prohibits overnight guests you will have to follow the same, unless there is a substantial change in circumstances that would allow for a modification of custody.
You may file a motion for relief from judgment to amend the order. If you violate the order you would not automatically lose custody, but the other party could file a motion to have you held in contempt of the order. The revised agreement would control. If found in contempt the judge will order you to stop, and may impose a punishment ranging from a fine to potential jail time.