When a Minnesota judge issued a final decree in your divorce, it may have included an agreement regarding the care and support of your children. Parents want what’s best for their kids, even if they themselves no longer wish to be in a marriage together. When parents work together as a team for their children’s sake, they are often able to resolve child custody disagreements in a swift and amicable fashion.
However, if one parent is not cooperating with the other — or worse, is doing things that impede the other parent’s relationship with the children, it can not only cause stress, but serious legal problems, as well. There are several issues that often arise that may require the court’s intervention to resolve.
Child custody problems that cause stress for parents and kids
If your ex is guilty of any of the issues shown in the following list, you may want to reach out for support to help resolve the problem before it gets out of hand:
- Impeding or prohibiting your access to your children or their access to you
- Refusing to transfer custody in accordance with the terms of the agreement
- Repeatedly (or intentionally) being late for custody transfers
- Showing up during your scheduled time with your kids
- Disregarding an existing court order
These issues may not only cause you stress but can confuse your children and cause them distress, as well. Kids can sense when there’s tension between their parents, and they often internalize custody issues so that they feel the problems are their fault. This can make it difficult for them to cope with a divorce.
Ideas to resolve a problem might not always be feasible
If your ex keeps showing up unannounced and interrupting your scheduled time with your children, you might think that moving far away would be an easy fix to the problem. A judge can’t prohibit you from moving. A judge can, however, tell you that your kids cannot move with you if the court determines that it is against their best interests to do so.
This is why it’s always best to seek experienced child custody support rather than trying to handle a complex issue on your own. No one has a right to keep your kids away from you or to deny you access to them when they are not in your custody. When there is a child custody agreement in place, both parents must adhere to the terms. If your ex isn’t doing so, you have every right to ask the court to intervene.
