Divorced parents who live in Kentucky often work hard to negotiate a fair agreement concerning how much time their child or children spend with each of them during the holidays. Unfortunately, some parents take advantage of holiday chaos to violate established custody agreements. Such situations can be extremely upsetting to both parents and children, and may require intervention from legal professionals as well as in some extreme cases law enforcement.
Custody interference during the holidays can take on several forms. One common scenario is the failure of a parent to return a child to the parent with primary physical custody after an extended holiday visit. This can become particularly complicated when the child has crossed state lines or even gone overseas.
Another common scenario is the failure of a parent to honor holiday visitation agreements. In many cases, divorce custody agreements are quite specific about how parents divide times around the holidays. Unfortunately, if parents have had hostilities between them, it is not unusual for one parent to refuse to honor the agreed-upon schedule.
These violations of custody agreements are not only distressing to both parents, they are also upsetting to extended family members who may be looking forward to time with the children. Most damaging is the effect on children who may not understand the actions of their parents. Such conflicts can become particularly distressing if law enforcement is called to remove children from one parent’s home to return them to the other parent.
Individuals who are concerned about holiday visitation arrangements may benefit from speaking with an experienced family law attorney. Counsel could review their case and make recommendations regarding a child custody modification or other steps that can be taken to prevent conflict in the future.