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(801) 254-9450 (801) 254-9450 When a Utah court issues a child custody order, both parents must follow it exactly. These orders are not suggestions or informal agreements, as there are legal consequences for any refusal to comply.
If your co-parent is not keeping up their end of the agreement, our skilled child custody attorneys may be able to help. Let a Heber City child custody enforcement lawyer at Carr | Woodall help you understand your legal options during this frustrating time.
Many parents assume that the court will not intervene unless the other parent violates the custody order multiple times. That assumption is often incorrect.
Utah law does not provide a grace period that allows a parent to violate a custody order without consequences. A parent does not receive a certain number of “free” violations before enforcement becomes available. In many situations, legal action may be appropriate after a single violation.
The seriousness of the violation often matters more than the number of times it occurs. For example, if one parent intentionally refuses to surrender the child for scheduled parenting time, the other parent may have grounds to seek enforcement immediately. Likewise, a parent who relocates with the child in violation of a court order may face legal consequences even if it is the first violation.
Courts generally look at the facts surrounding the violation. An isolated scheduling mistake caused by an emergency may be treated differently from a deliberate decision to ignore the order. However, parents should not assume that a violation becomes enforceable only after a pattern develops.
Prompt action can help preserve evidence, document the violation, and prevent future problems. If the other parent refuses to follow the custody order, speaking with an attorney serving Heber City who handles custody enforcement matters early can help determine the most effective response.
There are several potential remedies available to you if your petition is successful. Our child custody enforcement attorneys near Heber City can assist with the following:
When one parent improperly denies visitation or parent-time, the court may award additional time to compensate for those missed opportunities. Make-up parenting time seeks to restore the time that the child and parent lost because of the violation. While additional visitation cannot completely replace missed birthdays, holidays, or special events, courts often use make-up time to address violations and discourage future misconduct.
A parent who intentionally disobeys a custody order may be held in contempt of court pursuant to Utah Code § 78B-6-301. Contempt proceedings focus on whether the parent knowingly violated a valid court order. If the court finds contempt occurred, the parent could be fined or even jailed, although this is not the most common outcome.
In some cases, the court may require the violating parent to pay the other parent’s attorney’s fees and litigation expenses. This remedy helps prevent a parent from bearing the financial burden of enforcing an order that should have been followed in the first place. Courts often consider whether the violation was intentional and whether legal action became necessary because of the noncompliant parent’s conduct.
Repeated violations can sometimes affect future custody determinations. Courts generally expect parents to support the child’s relationship with the other parent. When one parent repeatedly interferes with visitation or refuses to comply with court orders, that behavior may be relevant in future custody proceedings, such as for an order modification.
If you are dealing with a co-parent who refuses to comply with the court order, it is time for you to explore your legal options. At Carr | Woodall, we understand how difficult these situations can be. Call for a private consultation to learn how a Heber City child custody enforcement lawyer could help.