What do you do if you have a 14 year old who does not want to follow the court ordered summer visitation Dad has even offered to cut the 3 weeks ordered down to 1 weekish. The only reason the daughter doesn’t want to come is she doesn’t want to leave her friends (there is a 7 hour difference). During her visit the daughter has the same access to cell phone and internet as she has at home. The only visitation dad really gets is summer and holidays (there is a monthly order also but daughter is always too busy for that). Mom doesn’t support Dad’s visitation and repeatedly tells the daughter she doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to. Mom even told Dad they would just not be home if he came to pick her up. We live in Florida and daughter lives in North Carolina so it is not like we can just drop by all of her softball games and such. Dad talks to daughter on phone weekly. We try to go to some of her events but it is hard living so far away. Should dad push the issue of visitation and does the child LEGALLY have the right to refuse? What should dad do if the daughter and Mom continue to refuse visitations?
The minor child does not have the right to legally refuse as she is still a minor. Mother must make the child readily available and must not hinder Father’s efforts to spend time with his daughter. If you retain evidence of Mother’s interference and you have a court order, you can file a Motion to Show Cause and force mother to explain her behavior to the judge, who will then make a finding and require mother to cooperate. If mother continues not to cooperate, the punishment laid down by the court will be increasingly harsh.