No, a separation agreement is not the same as a court order. A person cannot be found in contempt of a separation agreement. Your gf will need to initiate a legal action against her ex (i.e. her child’s father) for child custody. The court will then set custody and visitation via an order. The order may or may not contain similar terms and conditions as those contained in the separation agreement. This order is enforceable by the considerable contempt powers (e.g. fines, imprisonment) of the court. These contempt powers are most effective at forcing compliance with the court’s orders.
While it is possible an agreement was incorporated into a court order, if not, filing an action for custody would be required to have the security of the Court’s enforcement authority.
Deborah M. Throm
Rosen Law Firm
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Chapel Hill, NC 27514
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919.321.0780 main voice
www.rosen.com
Email: dthrom@rosen.com
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Raleigh, NC 27607
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Charlotte, NC 28262
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My g/f is separated and in the agreement it states that she get’s her child every other weekend, shared holidays and/or rotated between the parents. She is out of school for about 3 weeks and he is refusing to allow her to stay here for half of that time because I would be taking care of her while her mother works. Otherwise she’ll have to stay with his parents. What’s the diffenrece?
He is saying that she is reading the agreement wrong. Two weeks during the summer and/or track out time for the minor child’s school calendar does not mean she get’s her during this time frame.
He has already violated the agreement since he refused to allow the child to spend last weekend with her mother. With Christmas coming I am wondering what else he plans to mess up.
Is a Separation Agreement the same as a court order? Can he be found in contempt? If so what can we do to force him to comply?