I have custody of our child. My ‘ex’ is a hopeless time-keeper and very unreliable about visitation, although he does want to see our child . He is usually late, and sometimes doesn’t turn up at all. It is annoying for me and disrupts my plans, but it is most distressing for our son. The court has now ordered visitation rights to be held at the local communication centre in our neighbourhood. Is this likely to help ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 06 June, 2022It could do so. Some local authorities require parents to sign a contract governing the terms and conditions of meetings to be held between the non-custodial parent and the child at their special communication centres. Sometimes conditions relate to punctuality – for example, the contract may state that if the parent arrives more than 20 minutes late without prior notification, the meeting will be cancelled. Furthermore, the contract may specifically state that the centre has the right to suspend or cancel visitation there if the parent does not keep to the terms of the contract.
It may be that a non-custodial parent who loves his child and wants to see him will become more punctual for meetings when he learns that his lateness will have negative consequences and he will see his child less.