Contempt of visitation order?

[sshirley1982]

My ex (not husband) and I have a temporary visitation order in place for my 7 month old. The exact wording on the document states "the Plaintiff may have the child from..." and then lists the various times for weekends and holidays. It does not include a clause about transportation, however during the settlement discusions with his attorney, I stated that I would not agree to allow anyone other than her father to transport her to and from my house during the visitation period. My understanding of the wording in the document is that it does not leave any room for anyone other than "the plantiff" to have the child at any time. His mother handled transportation at the end of the visit and actually had her for several hours without "the plaintiff" present. Is this contempt of the order?

 

[WhirledPeas]

No, grandma caring for grandchild for a couple of hours without language to the contrary in the order is not contempt. Family members asked by the parent who has that residential time with the child are generally considered to be acting for that parent.

Why wouldn't you want your child's extended family to bond with the child? Unless Grandma's a drug addict or something, which you don't state, you may be overreacting. Better to pick your battles than appear unreasonable.

As you pin down the permanent order, I suggest language stating that the parent receiving the child be the one picking up. It will cut down on a lot of headaches and late returns. You can also ask for right of first refusal - if the parent with the child can't care for her for some reason, the other parent is notified and given an opportunity to provide care before other alternatives, (daycare or step-parents, etc.)

 

[sshirley1982]

I don't have a problem with his family bonding with her, but HE is a drug addict...and so are his friends and I don't want to my child left alone with any of them, and it was my hope that if I can force the issue with his mother, he won't even consider leaving her with one of his doped up friends. This is just a temporary order though, so I'll consider the points you suggested when we reach a final settlement. thanks

 

[WhirledPeas]

Why would you want to deny permission for grandma (presumably not on drugs) to transport your child if you're fearful that dad's a drug addict? Perhaps she was keeping an eye out for your baby and was transporting for that reason.

A more reasonable request would be to ask that grandma supervise the visits, if you can prove dad's on drugs you might get that. Short of that, asking that your child not be left in the care of non-family members has a higher chance of success than eliminating grandma's opportunity to provide care at dad's request.