I am no attorney but my understanding is the judge will address the show cause for violating the agreement since it is currently what is in place. Your x would have to actually file a motion for custody for that issue to be addressed.
That would make sense… but why is it that in mediation all they wanted to do is talk about what is going to happen from here on out and address changing the custody agreement??
In court the judge will only address the issues related to the show cause, if you go back to court on a motion to modify custody then the court will address the underlying issues.
You should keep in mind though if the show cause relates to your ex’s failure to return the children they may be able to come to court and talk to the judge about why they do not wish to return. Your ex is only in contempt if he has kept the children from you in blatant disregard of the authority of the court.
P.S. Please feel free to bring up this or any other topic on our live call-in show every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. EST. Visit radio.rosen.com for details
Helena M. Nevicosi
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.787.6361 main fax
Charlotte Office
301 McCullough Drive
Suite 510
Charlotte, NC 28262
Main Phone: (704)307.4600
Main Fax: (704) 9343.0044
Sutton Station
5826 Fayetteville Rd. Suite 205
Durham, NC 27713
Phone: (919) 321-0780
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action. The information posted on this forum is available for public viewing and is not intended to create an attorney client relationship with any individual. These answers are provided for informational purposes only, a person should consult with their own individual legal counsel before taking any action that could affect their legal rights or obligations.
I guess I don’t understand the definition of ‘blatant disregard of the authority of the court’. The x has kept the children, becuase the children do not want to be accountable for their actions at my house and the x lets them get away with a lot more. Their choices are for the wrong reason. Never in 10 years of being divorce did the x ever request more visitation with children and the children never requested more time with x.
Would the judge allow them to stay their full time?
If the court does allow the children to stay at the x’s house, would I be financially responsible for them?
I consider blatent disregard of the court to mean doing something against court order…KNOWING the court ordered it…simply because you don’t want to do it.
If the kids do end up staying with the Dad through whatever legal action, then yes, you would owe some type of child support if he pursues it.
Also, an agreement and an ORDER are 2 different things. Agreements can be modified and altered at any time between the two of you. Maybe that’s why you went to a moderator. If you can’t decide on a modification of an agreement, then you can go to court and they resolve it. I think THEN it becomes an ORDER. A custody ORDER is issued by the court and must go through the court in order to change.
The original custody agreement was put in place 10 years ago. We both had lawyers and was one step away from ending up in court, but we were able to settle with the mediator that is mandated before you go to court. Does this mean that it was an ‘agreement’ and not ‘an order’? If it is considered an agreement, does that mean that my filing a show cause that x violate the agreement is not really valid in the eyes of the court?
My understanding is this: I had an ‘agreement’ firstly. He broke the agreement. I had to get a lawyer to go to court. She filed a ‘breech of contract’ (because it was an agreement, not an order). I also had a custody ‘agreement’ that address child support. He also broke this agreement, thus another ‘breech of contract’ was done. Once in court, we made the custody/childsupport ‘agreement’ an “Order”. When he broke the order later that year, we had to issue a “Show Cause” and we went back to court.
I believe that was the process as best my recollection. I think an agreement pairs with breech of contract and an ORDER pairs with Show Cause. Helena can clarify. So if your agreement is still an agreement and not a court order, you would enter a complaint for breech of contract–not a show cause. (I BELIEVE [?])
We originally never went to court. During the divorce, we could not mutually agree on anything, so we had lawyers. Even 10 years ago, we still had to go to mediation before the lawyers could take it to court. The mediation was held in the court house. We were able to come to an agreement between the mediator, lawyers and us. My understanding is that that agreement was filed with the court system.
So is filing the show cause going to be thrown out of court? Do I have to start over with a 'breech of contract and if so how is that done?
The judge does not make a decision to change the custodial schedule during the show cause hearing, they simply decide if one party is in contempt of court. If they hold one party in contempt they will then decide what the punishment is. They can order that the children be returned home at that hearing.
Blatant disregard for the court would mean that your ex could not show any steps he had taken to comply with the court order, for example encouraging and trying to force the children to return to your house at the start of your custodial time.
P.S. Please feel free to bring up this or any other topic on our live call-in show every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. EST. Visit radio.rosen.com for details
Helena M. Nevicosi
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.787.6361 main fax
Charlotte Office
301 McCullough Drive
Suite 510
Charlotte, NC 28262
Main Phone: (704)307.4600
Main Fax: (704) 9343.0044
Sutton Station
5826 Fayetteville Rd. Suite 205
Durham, NC 27713
Phone: (919) 321-0780
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action. The information posted on this forum is available for public viewing and is not intended to create an attorney client relationship with any individual. These answers are provided for informational purposes only, a person should consult with their own individual legal counsel before taking any action that could affect their legal rights or obligations.
Someone earlier in response said that I may should have file a ‘breech of contract’ instead of the ‘show cause motion’ because the orginal custody agreement was done via lawyers and mediation and never made it to court.
Would someone validate which one I should have filed?
Also if I should have filed a ‘breech of contract’, will the ‘show motion’ be thrown out of court and not addressed (court for the show cause motion which is already scheduled’?
I assumed because you indicated you had filed a show cause that you had a court order. Some court orders are done by consent. If a judge has signed your order you were correct to file a show cause. If your order is only signed by you and your Husband then you need to file an action for breach of contract.
P.S. Please feel free to bring up this or any other topic on our live call-in show every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. EST. Visit radio.rosen.com for details
Helena M. Nevicosi
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.787.6361 main fax
Charlotte Office
301 McCullough Drive
Suite 510
Charlotte, NC 28262
Main Phone: (704)307.4600
Main Fax: (704) 9343.0044
Sutton Station
5826 Fayetteville Rd. Suite 205
Durham, NC 27713
Phone: (919) 321-0780
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action. The information posted on this forum is available for public viewing and is not intended to create an attorney client relationship with any individual. These answers are provided for informational purposes only, a person should consult with their own individual legal counsel before taking any action that could affect their legal rights or obligations.
I looked back and the custody agreement and yes it was signed by a Judge even though we settled in mediation. Thank you for the clarification.
We have already been to one session of mediation since I filed the show cause and we have another one scheduled Monday but I have a feeling that things will not get solved.
Court is also scheduled for next week. Since the show cause is for violating the custody agreement will the Judge only concentrate on that or will Judge address changing the custody agreement also (which is what I believe my x will want to do), especially since the children and older teenagers? What else will I expect when we go to court? Is there anything I need to prepare myself.
The judge will not address a change in the custodial schedule at this time, the court will only address whether or not your ex is in violation of the order.
P.S. Please feel free to bring up this or any other topic on our live call-in show every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. EST. Visit radio.rosen.com for details
Helena M. Nevicosi
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.787.6361 main fax
Charlotte Office
301 McCullough Drive
Suite 510
Charlotte, NC 28262
Main Phone: (704)307.4600
Main Fax: (704) 9343.0044
Sutton Station
5826 Fayetteville Rd. Suite 205
Durham, NC 27713
Phone: (919) 321-0780
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action. The information posted on this forum is available for public viewing and is not intended to create an attorney client relationship with any individual. These answers are provided for informational purposes only, a person should consult with their own individual legal counsel before taking any action that could affect their legal rights or obligations.
My x and I just attended mediation for a show cause I filed for the x not making the children come back home and violating our child custody agreement. The children are 16 and 17 and left because they did not want to mind my rules and get away with so much more at the x’s.
The mediator listened to what I had to say, but was really focused on what we do from here on out. Even though the show cause was for violating the agreement, the time spent was on dicussing on what to modify for the agreement for here on out. The mediator mentioned that children get to voice their opionion if we should go to court.
I read on an earlier forum question that if the show cause is for violation of agreement, then that is what the judge will concentrate on. The mediator made it sound like the judge would talk to the children to see what they want.
Will the judge only address the show cause for violation of the agreement, or will they focus on setting up a new child custody agreement?
If the judge makes it more about changing the agreement, will they solely listen to the children, or will they take into consideration my concern that they are wanting to stay with the x because of the wrong reasons? IBefore the last few months, neither the children or x never ever asked for a change in the agreement.