Can police enforce a child custody order in Texas?

Obtaining a child custody order is a common practice in Texas family law. A custody order contains provisions regarding a parent’s rights and duties concerning their child. Parents can negotiate these terms and settle them together. Or a court may need to issue child custody orders otherwise. Determining a schedule for possession and visitation of children is a key part of this scenario. Being able to co-parent for the benefit of your children effectively is a major focus for families.

However, in some situations, families disagree on how the terms of their order will be utilized. In situations like that, potential violations of a court order arise. Your family will be tested as far as whether both parents will be able to abide by a court order. Disagreements happen from time to time when parents are not on the same page with how to read an order. You may interpret a particular provision one way. Your co-parent may read a particular provision another way. 

When this happens, the situation is ripe for violation(s) of the court order. It is not as if a judge or your attorney will be by your side when those violations occur. Would a police officer be able to help you enforce the terms of your court order? That is what we are going to be discussing in today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan.

Child custody interference

Most of the time, a law enforcement officer will elect not to help enforce a child custody order. The reason for this is that child custody orders are civil. Police officers typically decline to become involved in civil matters involving child custody. This is despite there being state criminal laws that prohibit interfering with child custody and possession periods. 

Police may decide to intervene in the situation. This is done when a parent takes or retains a child even though he or she knows that possession Is rightfully the other parent. This is done in contravention of a court order. On a practical level, this could involve you contacting the police or constable when it becomes apparent that your co-parent is withholding custody from you. 

Put yourself in the following position. You are expecting to be able to go to your co-parent’s home on Friday to pick up your children for weekend visitation. However, when you arrive at her house the children are not ready to come out. After waiting for approximately 20 minutes, you decide to knock on the door again. Unfortunately, your co-parent says that the children are not feeling well and that you should try to come back tomorrow. You have doubts about how your children are doing and do not believe your co-parent.

In this situation, what would you do? You do not doubt that something is going on that is not right. However, you do not want to do anything that will put you in violation of your court orders. 

What situations may cause the police to become involved?

Contacting law enforcement is far from an ideal situation. When you find yourself contacting law enforcement to handle a child custody dispute that is a telltale sign that something is going wrong between you and your co-parent. However, in the moment that something is happening it is not as if you can reverse time and seek to change whatever issue was ongoing. Rather, you would have to try and deal with the challenges presented in the best possible manner.

Reaching out to law enforcement may seem to be the most practical step you can take. After all, the police are a legal authority in a certain sense of the word. If your coparent will not listen to you then hopefully, she will listen to a law enforcement officer. Contacting law enforcement in this scenario means allowing them to decide how serious the circumstances are. All you know is that you want to see your children. Additionally, court orders state that it is your weekend period of possession.

If law enforcement comes out to the scene to investigate further, they very well may take no action at all. Again, in most situations, law enforcement will not get in the middle of a situation involving denied custody. However, if you have a copy of your court orders and if there is a dangerous situation developing then intervention is possible. However, much of the time contacting law enforcement is done to document that you have been denied custody.

What is another way to document a denial of possession?

You need to have documentation showing that Your co-parent has denied you a period of possession. Otherwise, you put yourself in a position where it is your word against hers. There may be enough circumstantial evidence for you to win on that argument. However, the better position is for you to have actual evidence that the possession has been denied.

What we should be figuring out is how to best document the situation for evidence purposes. One way to do this is to contact law enforcement. Law enforcement can provide you with basic documentation showing that they came out to the scene and reviewed the circumstances with you. Importantly, this paperwork can provide you with a date time, and location that can be used as evidence in the case.

Even if you do not want to contact law enforcement in this situation you may choose to obtain other evidence. A simple way to do this would be to go to a local corner store or a fast-food restaurant and make a small purchase. This allows you to show a court in the future that you were in the correct time and place on the right day. It is not enough to show that you anticipated custody would be denied. Rather, you have to show up at the right place in time and then be denied possession. This is how you meet the burden of showing wrongful denial of possession.

Working with an experienced family law attorney

It is a stressful situation to find yourself in when you have been denied a rightful period of possession by your co-parent. You probably have several emotions going through your mind and body. If you are not careful, you may make a bad decision. Behaving aggressively may jeopardize the entirety of your case. This feeling that you are not in control is enough to put anyone in a position of feeling uneasy.

One of the ways that you can be made to feel like you have more control over the situation is to have an experienced family law attorney working alongside you. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan are the type of advocates that you need to move forward in a complex circumstance like this. Attorneys know how to prepare a case such as a wrongful denial of possession circumstance. Collecting evidence, organizing it, and then preparing it in a way to have that evidence introduced into a record are all important functions of an attorney. 

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan offers free of charge consultations six days a week. Our attorneys can work with you to find out what is happening and then build a case based on the needs of your family. We advocate for clients every day both inside and outside the courtroom.

Parental kidnapping

Going beyond interference with possession are those circumstances where your co-parent may attempt to kidnap your child. Especially intimidating are circumstances where your co-parent may try to remove your child to another state or even another country. In Texas, children are especially at risk of being kidnapped internationally. For one, we share a border with a foreign country. Next, the population of Texas is extremely diverse. As a result, many Texas citizens have family members who reside outside of the country.

In a circumstance like this, law enforcement is much more likely to act. Begin by taking careful notes and documenting anything you can find when it comes to the parent’s plans to try and kidnap your child. If possible, keep your child’s passport in a place where your co-parent cannot access it easily. You may also choose to contact different airlines to inform them of the concerns you have. Find out what, if anything, can be done ahead of time to keep track of your child’s movements. 

There are also steps that you can take as far as keeping your child safe at home. Filing emergency requests for temporary orders hearings would be a sensible first step. You may choose to ask for temporary orders that prevent your co-parent from removing your child from this jurisdiction. Or asking a court to have a third party hold your child’s passport. These are the sort of forward-thinking approaches that you should consider as you attempt to keep your child safe at home.

Enforcing a child custody order in court

When it comes to trying to enforce a court order the most useful method is going through a court. Specifically, what you need to do is to file an enforcement petition. Within that enforcement petition, you would specify the violations of the court order. The date, time, and location of each violation should be specified. General complaints about possession orders being violated will not suffice. Rather, the more specific you can be the better chances you have of being successful in the enforcement case.

Once you have listed each violation of the court order you can ask the court for certain relief. For a wrongful denial of possession, relief may look like makeup visitation time, fines, and the payment of attorney’s fees. Violating child support orders can result in jail time for the offending parent. Courts consider the violation of a family court order to be extremely significant. However, you are best positioned when you can present tangible evidence to a court of the alleged violations.

Make sure you have copies of your court order at home

One of the most significant mistakes a parent can make concerning a family law matter is to be unfamiliar with their court orders. For that reason, it is best to have an electronic and physical version of your court order within reach. For disagreements with your co-parent which may occur you should have a copy of your court order saved on your phone. Additionally, having multiple physical copies of the court order at home is also a good idea. This is so you can hand out copies to law enforcement, school personnel, or even a doctor’s office.

Once you understand your court order you are in a better position to be able to protect yourself and your child. Families who do not understand their court order are more prone to issues regarding visitation and possession of children. You can keep your co-parent accountable to your child and the law by understanding the court order. This process should begin when you are family law case comes to an end. Do not end the case before you understand your court orders. This can be something as simple as asking your attorney to explain more clearly various provisions of the court order.

Reacting appropriately when the safety of your child is at risk

Making good decisions is imperative when you have a child who is at risk of harm. However, it is better to make good decisions efficiently. The longer it takes for you to decide on how to proceed the more likely it is that something bad can happen to your child. To prevent this from happening, you are best advised to have a plan in place so that no time is lost.

Contacting law enforcement should always be an option for you. Again, it is not as if the court or an attorney will be able to do much of anything in an immediate sense. This is where law enforcement can help you work towards a peaceful resolution of the situation. Remember that law enforcement does not know the entirety of your situation. Be patient with them while you explain your circumstances. Help CPS to know any details which may be critical to the immediate safety of your child. 

If your child is being abused or neglected, then that is a situation that merits contacting law enforcement. Law enforcement can investigate the situation to determine whether your child has been put in danger by your co-parent. An additional concern may be the involvement of Child Protective Services. Child Protective Services may seek to interview you and any other person who is involved in caring for your child.

Prepare as best you can when it comes to the enforcement of a child custody order 

in truth, you need to be vigilant when it comes to preparing for a potential child custody enforcement case. There are limitations to what you may be able to do at the moment. Making sure that your child is kept safe is at the top of the priorities list for many parents. And trusting the safety of your child with a co-parent is a tenuous position to find yourself in. When you lack mutual trust with your co-parent that is when you may find yourself needing to exercise other means to advocate for your children.

Law enforcement is available to help you keep your family safe. You should not hesitate to try and contact law enforcement if you believe the safety and well-being of your child is in jeopardy. However, that does not mean that law enforcement will always leap at the opportunity to intervene in a situation involving wrongful withholding of child custody. As we talked about in today’s blog post, it is more likely that CPS would act if the immediate safety of your child is at risk.

Having a copy of your court order available is a good place to start when it comes to advocating on behalf of your child. Understanding your court order is another step in the right direction. Many families struggle when it comes to these areas because of a lack of knowledge regarding the court order and what it contains. If you can better understand your court order you have a much better chance of being able to protect yourself and your family.

The importance of working with a superior family law attorney

Thank you for joining us today on the blog for the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our attorneys advocate for our clients in several different settings. Both inside and outside the courtroom, the attorneys with our office know what it takes to stand up for what is right. We post unique and informative blogs on this website every day of the week. Please join us again tomorrow as we continue to share information about Texas family law.

Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law. Before signing a document or negotiating on a subject you do not know well, contact our office. We look forward to the opportunity of serving you during an important part of your life. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is on your side.