questions & answers

Question: My ex-husband sent me a letter from prison, telling me he hired a lawyer to get a judge to ORDER me to take our 2 kids to see him. I have sole custody, and I had told him that i am not going to take them to a prison to visit him. When he was out, he never put any effort to see our kids, he only does this when he's in prison. Is is possible for him to get a court order to force me to take the kids to see him in prison?

Answer:

You may want to look to your divorce decree and see what custody and visitation is stated in the decree. Is it possible for your ex to get a court order for parenting time while he is in prison - yes. Whether it is probable or appropriate is another question. If your ex pursues this issue, the courts will have to determine if it is in the children's best interest for them to have parenting time with your ex while he is incarcerated. There are many factors that the court will consider in making such a determination. Some, but not all, of those factors may include, the reasons for your ex's incarceration, his past relationship with the children, his past relationship with you, issues that may have been made and ruled on during the divorce proceedings (i.e. was there domestic violence, etc.), the current orders in effect (i.e. prior to his incarceration was he allowed unsupervised parenting time and if so, did he exercise his visitation rights), the age of your children, etc. The list could go on and on.

You may want to discuss this matter with an attorney. An attorney will be able to look into the specifics of your situation. Bring all of your divorce paperwork and any correspondence that you may have received from your ex's attorney so that it can be reviewed.