Visitation

I live in OH with my child. My ex-husband lives in NC, where we divorced. The child is 15 1/2, and travels by plane to see him. One of my conditions, although not in the custody agreement, is that she has a direct flight to and from. He tried making her do a connecting flight when she had just turned 14, but I put my foot down. Now he’s trying it again. I told him I didn’t like it, but if she was comfortable with it, I wouldn’t stop her. She has told me several times she is scared. She would be flying to DC, where she is not familiar with the terminal at all. He has emailed me twice this week, assuming I am the one stopping her from going. She is stalling him because she is scared. Tonight he basically threatened to sue me if she doesn’t go. Although it’s not in our agreement, I have let her go every spring break because we don’t ever have plans. I checked, and this is his year, so I can’t even argue that. I don’t want to force her to go if she isn’t comfortable.

My question is do I have to make her go? What happens to me if she doesn’t? Thanks.

If your agreement is not contained in a court order, there is not much that he can do because of your breach. The only recourse he would have would be to file a new child custody action, and ask the court to put a custody order in place. If the judge hears testimony about the missed flight, it may impact the court order if the judge does not believe you were being reasonable.

If your agreement is contained in a court order, you could be held in contempt which could many penalties including, but not limited to, monetary penalties and jail time.