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Can You Withhold Visitation if Your Ex Hasn’t Paid Child Support?
Fair treatment is essential, both during a family law case and after it concludes. You often find yourself involved in a family law case because you feel that your spouse or partner has not treated you fairly. Whether due to issues in your relationship or concerns about how matters regarding your children were being handled, there may have been times when you felt you weren’t receiving a fair deal. Eventually, even the most patient and understanding individuals reach a point where they say, “enough is enough.” If you’re at that point, today’s blog post, especially when it comes to denial of parenting time, is for you.
Ensuring Fair Treatment in Family Law and Relationships
If you ask some people, they have no concept of fairness. They will tell you that the fair comes to the county once a year. Otherwise, fairness is something in the eye of the beholder and not something that is guaranteed. This is especially true in their eyes when it comes to relationships. There is nothing that ensures fair treatment when raising your kids or even being in a marriage. What’s fair is what you can fight for and earn in a sense. This may go against many of your basic notions of equity and what’s right and wrong, but the reality is that many people feel this way. Your spouse may even be one of these people.
So, you need to ask yourself what steps you can take to ensure that you are treated fairly, especially if fairness is important to you. Everyone has different goals in their relationships, marriages, and when raising children. While I may not assume that what I consider fair is the same as what you think is important, I can offer guidance based on Texas family law regarding denial of parenting time and how to approach situations where you feel mistreated by your spouse or partner. Knowing your legal rights and responsibilities empowers you to advocate for fair treatment and ensure the respect of your parental rights.
Prioritizing Your Child’s Best Interests in Family Law
If you don’t feel the need to protect your rights and do what is fair for you, you should think of the best interests of your children. After all, this is the standard that a family court judge would use to determine issues related to your kids. What is in their best interests? This considers factors present in their life now, in the future, and their emotional and physical well-being. While no standard is perfect and no family law judges perfect, the court will do its best to determine what is likely to end up being most advantageous for your child considering these factors and more. You don’t want to put your child in a situation where an unsympathetic parent tramples on their rights or ignores their needs for their own desires.
Often, we rationalize mistreatment. Many of us avoid confrontation and hesitate to take action, fearing it may come across as aggressive or threatening. The trouble with this mindset is that it invites aggressive people to act that way. Second is our perception of fairness and strong identity accurate at all. We want to make sure that what we want in our daily lives and how we treat others is fair and appropriate. This is much different than the need to Continuously do what our spouse or partner wants to avoid a conflict.
Understanding Your Rights and Navigating Difficult Family Dynamics
From my experience, this discussion begins and ends with understanding what is and isn’t appropriate under the law, particularly when it comes to denial of parenting time. This knowledge gives you a clearer understanding of how to expect fair treatment, how to treat others, and how to secure favorable responses. Navigating difficult relationship circumstances, such as a divorce or child custody case, can be challenging, but knowing your rights and responsibilities helps you approach these situations more effectively.
You must learn how to tread lightly and balance your interests with the daughters of a Co-parent who has just as much of a right to having a relationship with your child as you do. If you tend to look the other way and tolerate hurt rather than pursue your rights, it’s essential to develop a stronger sense of self and a more resilient approach. Understanding how you deserve to be treated and learning how to protect your rights are crucial steps in standing up for yourself.
Protecting Your Rights and Parenting Time with Your Children
Two of the most critical areas of your life when it comes to building a relationship with your children are the time you have with them and your ability to provide for them from a physical standpoint. If the past two years have taught us anything, we cannot take anything as a given any longer. What we may have thought of previously as a guarantee or something we can certainly count on is probably no longer is the case. Rather, we can consider what our life looks like from the perspective of tabbing to pursue our rights rather than expect that they will be permanently honored by other people. Is simple truth is that sometimes we must be aggressive in defending ourselves and what is important to us.
If your ability to provide for and spend time with your children is essential to you, this blog post is something you’ll want to pay close attention to. When it comes to sharing parenting time, it’s crucial to approach the situation as a parent who understands what is at stake, especially in cases involving denial of parenting time. If you allow your co-parent to mistreat you or take advantage of you, they may begin to believe it’s acceptable to disregard your rights. Taking a stand and protecting yourself is key to ensuring that both your relationship with your children and your rights are respected.
A comparison for you to consider
one of the lessons that I hope you will take away from today’s blog post is that there is nothing wrong with pursuing your rights. This does not make you selfish, aggressive, or intolerant. Your rights are there for a reason. The primary reason you have rights is not to benefit yourself as a parent. Instead, the reason why you have rights as a parent is to satisfy the life of your children primarily. Yes, you have the right as a parent to get some satisfaction and enjoyment out of raising your children. However, it is mainly your children who intend to benefit from your relationship with them.
The comparison that I think is an interesting one to consider is protecting and enforcing your rights as a parent compared to building wealth. In my life, I have talked to some people who are nearly obsessed with growing wealth and making money. These people constantly think about work and are always making a dollar mode, if you know what I mean. These people instinctively want to make money and understand the importance of doing so.
The Importance of Building Wealth: Creating Options for Yourself and Others
On the other hand, I have also known people who are hesitant to build wealth or make money but believe that doing so is something they do not want to pursue. These are the sort of folks who say that the best things in life are free. In many ways, these people are correct. I have found that the best things that I have experienced cost no money and are technically free. Think about interactions with your family and children as examples of things that cost no money but bring even the most joy and happiness. That way, the people who have no interest in building wealth or accumulating money are correct.
However, I will note that the people who believe that the best things in life are free may be missing the point a tad bit. Building wealth and building a life for yourself and your family does not necessarily mean using that wealth only to buy things. The purpose of building wealth is to give yourself options. When you have some money in the bank, you give yourself options.
Sure, you can spend that money I’m whatever you would like, but you can also save it, give it or do some combination of the two. If you have no use for money beyond taking care of the essentials, you may want to use your wealth or any extra money to donate to your church or a charity. My point is that when you take the time to consider the importance of wealth, you have options that you give yourself. Those options can be used to benefit people other than you.
Defending Your Parental Rights in Texas for the Benefit of Your Children
The same applies to your rights as a parent in Texas, particularly in situations such as denial of parenting time. By actively defending and pursuing your rights, you’re not only protecting yourself but also benefiting your children. Ultimately, your kids stand to gain significantly from your commitment to upholding your parental rights. While you may not feel inclined to pursue these rights aggressively for your own benefit, it’s essential to consider how defending them directly impacts your children’s well-being and future.
This is the lens through which I would invite you to look at these issues as we complete today’s blog post. Please do not think that I am writing this blog post only for you to be able to think about issues related to your parental rights through the prism of sticking it to your ex-spouse or doing what it takes to steal time from your Co-parent for yourself. That is not what I am talking about.
However, I think there is a time and a place for a discussion like this. Identifying those times where you can and should defend your rights and pursue them to benefit your children is incredibly important. Like anything else, it takes time to build this muscle and be able to develop the confidence necessary to do so. I hope that by reading blog posts like this, you begin to build the sense of self necessary to develop strategies, protect yourself, and strengthen your relationship with your children in the process.
The relationship between visitation and child support
Today’s blog post title is all about child support and visitation. There are two components to this discussion in a typical Texas divorce or child custody case. Typically, one parent is designated as the primary decision-maker for determining the children’s primary residence. This parent then has the right to receive child support payments from the other parent. Meanwhile, the parent ordered to pay child support has the right to visitation time with the children, based on the agreement made through mediation or the court orders issued after a trial.
Navigating Unexpected Challenges in Child Support Payments
As you may imagine, issues in life may lead to you or your Co-parent being unable to make child support payments on time consistently. We have already discussed how the past couple of years have likely shown us that life sometimes throws us curveballs. In the case of this pandemic, we have seen that life can throw us curveball after curveball after curveball. My point is that you, as a parent, cannot always be sure of what will happen in life. We can prepare as best as possible for life’s twists and turns, but sometimes unexpected events arise that we cannot qualify for adequately.
Understanding Child Support and Visitation Rights in Texas
If you suddenly lost your job and had no money in the reserve to make your next child support payment, then you may be concerned with whether your ex-spouse could potentially withhold custody of your children until you become current on child support. The question you would need to ask yourself is whether payment of child support is your key to visiting with your children. Is staying current on your child support prerequisite for having your visitation rights honored? On the other hand, if you are the parent who receives child support and you’ve not received payment in a couple of months, you may be wondering whether or not it is appropriate for you to withhold time with your children from your ex-spouse until they can become current on child support.
The answer to either question is that child support; hey mate not a prerequisite towards receiving custody or visitation of your children. Withholding visitation for the failure to pay child support is not appropriate and not allowed under Texas family law. Withholding child support if you have been denied visitation with your children is also not allowed. This can strike some as unfair but remember that we are talking about what is best for your children here and not what is necessarily best for you or your Co-parent.
Conclusion
In conclusion, denial of parenting time or withholding child support for any reason is not only unfair but can have serious emotional and legal consequences. Forbidding children the time they deserve with their parents, or withholding financial support as a means of retaliation, is never appropriate. While these actions may feel like a response to unfair treatment, they only serve to harm the children involved. If you’re facing such challenges, exploring legal options like enforcement cases supported by the law is crucial. Consulting with an experienced family law attorney before making any decisions can help you avoid legal trouble and ensure that your actions prioritize the well-being of your children.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
If you have any questions about the material contained in today’s blog post, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free-of-charge consultation six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are an excellent way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law and how the filing of divorce may impact your family circumstances for a child custody case.
Other Related Articles:
- Filing for Child Custody in Texas: A Practical Guide for Parents
- Texas Laws on Child Support and Visitation: Withhold visitation if your ex hasn’t paid child support?
- Custody, Visitation and Child Support: How to handle these issues when incarcerated in Texas
- Can my Texas Driver’s License Be Suspended for Not paying Child Support?
- Child Support Modification in Texas (Part 1)
- What do I do if I have overpaid child support in Texas?
- Child Custody Basics in Texas
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- Texas Child Support Appeals
- In Texas, are Child Support and Visitation Connected?
- Texas Child Support – Trust and Annuities
- Can you sign your rights away and not pay child support?
- What happens to child support if a parent dies?
