Currently, one of the main issues with our custody agreement is “Wednesday night dinners” with the girls. Now that the girls are getting older, this is becoming more of an issue due to them being in advanced/honors classes, having so much homework and my ex NOT having appropriate equipment for the girls to use for their homework (Internet connection, computer, wifi, etc.). He gets them every other weekend and Wednesdays for dinner (and even THEN he doesn’t get home until 6pm or later and then returns them at 8pm). This visitation/custody agreement was issued over 4 years ago. However, it is interfering with their schoolwork. If I choose to not let the girls go there on Wednesdays during the school year or when they have heavy homework, will I be in violation/contempt of the court order? What are the repercussions?? I don’t have the money to go back to court to modify the visitation but he is unreasonable and I moved out due to the fact that he was violent and abusive. Thanks.
Being found in contempt of a court order could include fines or jail time. I know that homework can be demanding, but if he is only taking them for a 2 hour period of time, they should have a couple hours before and after to complete their homework requirements, and it shouldn’t be necessary that he complete their homework with them. There is still a lot of homework that does not require internet usage, so have your children plan their time accordingly to get the non-research related homework done in the 2 hour window before he gets home and save their research for when they are at your house.
If the girls themselves tell him that they do not want to come over for Wednesday dinner or if they have homework or whatever their decision is, am I supposed to FORCE them to go or do they have a say in this now that they’re older? (One is almost 13 and the other is 14).
When a court makes a determination of whether a party should be held in contempt, the judge is deciding whether your violation of the order was willful. Having your teenaged daughters express what they want and refusing to go may assist you in overcoming this burden, but the only way to guarantee withstanding being held in contempt is to follow the order.