Friday, November 16, 2007

Parenting Time: Requesting more with kids

Indiana's parenting time provides the minimum parenting time with the children. The parties retain the right to agree to more parenting time.

How to get this done? If agreed to before the Final Hearing in a divorce case or before the court enters a Decree of Paternity in a paternity case, the agreement goes into the Decree of Dissolution of Marriage or the Decree of Paternity.

If after an Order setting parenting time, the change can be accomplished by filing the agreement with the court with an Order approving the agreement.

Why an Order? Because an Order provides the means of enforcing that same Order. Without approval by the court, the agreement might as well be written on the wind.

Remember, that there are other articles on this blog on parenting time and visitation. You can reach them by clicking the links below next to the word label.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The mother of my son, proven by dna test for my visitation rights through jennings county circuit court, has moved without notification to the court on me. I found this out on Friday, 27th of march 2009. She also has not complied with the visitation order, and has been forced to compel with the information and interogatories from which my sent her two months ago, at the least. She has until the 3rd of april, next week to comply. I have been fighting with her inn anou out of court pretty much since my son was born,she now has two other children by two different men. Has not been a productive member of society, has not worked in 4 years, gets my tax check every year because i had to take her to court to get my rights and that put be in the arrears from the start. THIS IS NOT FAIR!! Indiana is awortless mother state, and they protect them as well. Fathers have no rights, even ina court order. When i took her to court of contempt in violsting the visitation order, the judge told me i had to file "make-up" days to get the days i missed with my son, what a crock!!!! In the same hearing, I told the judge she came at mw with an aluminunm baseball bat and threated to hit me when she shoved the end of the bat into my chin. The judge says this is what problems unwed parents go through!! Yeah right!! Well, as i say again we FATHERS have no say in the movement of our children, just cause a girl gives birth to a child DOES NOT automatically make her the better parent. I go to college online striving for an Associates in business, then continuing for a Bachelors in Criminal justice. STAY STRON ALL FATHERS OUT THERE WHO PAY SUPPORT AS I< AND WANT TO SEE THEIR KIDS!! WE CAN !!

Sam Hasler said...

I came very close to not publishing this comment as it comes closer to a rant than a comment on the original post. However, the writer makes a few points - probably inadvertently - that are worth discussing.

First, what he says about the Judge and contempt parenting time. I think several people - including some lawyers - continued to operate under pre-Parenting Time Guidelines concept of contempt for visitation. In the old days missing visitation was enough to show a willful disobedience of a court's Order (which is what contempt is all about). The PTG now require the offering of make up time. If the custodial parent refuses the make up time, then (and only then) has there been a disobedience of a court order.

Second, the law does make a distinction between paternity and divorce cases. Reading my archives on the subject of paternity will point out some examples of this. It is purely my opinion that the Indiana General Assembly has decided that this it does not favor illegitimate children but favors marriage.

Third, I detect the possibility of a discrimination that I do not see so much of today but was once fairly common: enforcement of child support orders over visitation orders. The writer has gotten behind in his child support payments - that is why his tax refunds are being taken every year. I got to give credit to our Madison County judges for finally realizing that no visitation with the non-custodial parent is just as injurious no child support. As for this showing bias towards mothers, consider substituting he for she.

Fourth, I think the writer demonstrates how few people understand how courts function. I am guessing that he does have a lawyer. Yet he seems to think that the court will monitor and take action on his case. I keep saying this but the courts do not take any action - the parties act and the court decides. Then there are procedures to be filed. It might have helped some if he had explained why he did not file a Petition to Modify Custody that is allowed under the relocation statute - or even a standard change of custody petition without reference to the relocation statute. The thing is not to stay strong but to take action.

It might have been a more interesting discussion on the substance if the writer had expressed any ideas of what system he thinks would be better than what we have.