Child custody orders are meant to be followed. In some cases, one parent opts to not follow those orders. Those parents might just want to get back at the other parent so they try to keep the kids away. This is known as custody interference.
For the parent who is left without being able to see his or her child, the custody interference is hard to deal with. There is a good chance that it is also difficult on the child.
Children thrive on routine. They need to know what is going to happen. Child custody interference takes away the stability that the child has had since it is making things change all of a sudden.
When one parent interferes with custody, the other parent might choose to take action to get the situation rectified. This will usually involve going back to court. At that point, the court might change the child custody order to make it more difficult for one parent to interfere with the order.
Parents need to remember that child custody and visitation aren’t bargaining chips. You can’t refuse to let a child see his or her other parent because you don’t like the other parent or because child support payments are late. Instead, the child custody order must still be followed.
There are some instances in which parents are willing to risk the troubles associated with interference. If the other parent is on drugs, doing something illegal or taking part in immoral activities while the child is around, the parent might risk getting into legal troubles to protect the child.
When there are issues that need to be addressed with the child custody order, modifications might be possible. This could result in the child custody order changing if it is in the best interests of the child.
Source: FindLaw, “Custody or Visitation Interference,” accessed May 25, 2017