Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

I have an ex husband who has not exercised his visitation since last July. He now wants to try and re enter the picture. He does pay child support which is garnished from his check. What father can come and go out of kids lives? Our kids are teenagers and could care less at this point. I don't see anything in our papers about this kind of situation. What happens now?


Asked on 1/12/13, 6:35 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Fran Brochstein Attorney & Mediator

You might want to talk to a family law attorney in your county. It appears that you live in the Houston area. There are plenty of attorneys to choose from. Look on this website and on www.avvo.com for an attorney.

The children know who their father is so it's not like they need to get re-acquainted with him. I'm sure that they are angry with him and he will have to deal with that directly with them. Since the two of you are court ordered, he could come back to court and attempt to hold you in contempt of court if he tries to exercise his visits and you refuse to allow him to pick up the children. At that time, you would have to show that he missed many months of visits and the judge could also talk to the children allow in chambers. So if he shows up at the proper time and place, you need to surrender the children to him.

This is a complex matter, so I would urge you to talk to an attorney about all options available to you. Until you modify your current orders, they are still in effect.

I hope this information is helpful to you.

You might have the entire family go into counseling to help the children deal with their feelings. I would urge their father to join counseling so he can understand what the children are going through too. The children and their father need to deal with their issues and you don't need to be involved in that - let a professional handle it.

Good luck!

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Answered on 1/12/13, 11:04 pm


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