Options if a Child Will Not Cooperate in Custody Exchanges

 Posted on December 27, 2024 in Child Custody

Co-parenting can bring a lot of new and significant challenges to your life. Most children want to maintain a relationship with both parents and look forward to seeing both. However, some children do favor spending time with one parent over the other. Sometimes, this is because your child took sides in your divorce. Other times, it is because one parent is less permissive than the other, or because one parent lives near the child’s longtime friends and the other has relocated. Children who feel strongly about staying with one parent may start refusing to cooperate with custody exchanges. If your child is protesting a custody exchange, there are some steps that you as a parent can take to ensure both compliance with your court-ordered child placement schedule and your children’s safety and well-being. An experienced Madison, WI child custody lawyer can step in if legal action is needed.

Finding Out Why Your Child is Resisting Visitation 

It is important for you to make sure you understand why your child is refusing to cooperate with visitation. This includes screening for possible abuse or neglect your children could have experienced in the other parent’s household. You will want to make sure that your children are not afraid to go with the other parent because something bad happened to them in that parent’s care.

Once you are confident that that is not the case, you can talk to your child about why he or she does not want to visit the other parent to see if it is something that could be easily solved. For very young children, something as simple as sending a comfort item with her may be enough. Older children and teenagers may have more complex reasons for refusing to cooperate when it is time for a custody handoff. In some cases, the child’s reasons for refusing visitation may warrant legal action to change a child custody plan.

Steps to Take When Your Child Refuses a Custody Exchange

If your child refuses to spend time with her other parent, the first thing you will need to do is to notify the other parent. You must communicate to the other parent that your child is resisting the exchange. When young children are involved, you generally have a responsibility to comply with the established placement plan whether the child cooperates or not. If your children are teenagers, however, you may not have the same ability to force them to go with the other parent. You will be expected to do what you can to get your child to comply, but it is understandable that a teenager might impede a custody exchange.

If your children are being harmed by visitation with the other parent, you may be able to obtain a modification to your child placement order that limits your children’s time with the other parent to supervised or infrequent visitation. However, you will need to contact an attorney the first time you find that you cannot make a scheduled custody exchange due to your child’s lack of cooperation.

Contact a Madison, WI Family Attorney

John T. Fields & Associates, LLC is committed to helping divorced parents succeed in co-parenting. Experienced Dane County, WI high-conflict child custody lawyer John T. Fields will do all he can to protect you and your children when carrying out custody exchanges as planned proves impossible. Contact us at 608-729-3590 for a complimentary consultation.