My ex has supervised visit with our kid on weekends, and he cancels a lot in the last minute or after my kid is already in the supervised place waiting for him, is anything legal I can do.
I canceled at least 24 hours in advance when I have to work on the weekends and I have a record from my job, can I take him to court to suspend the visits until he is ready to be a father
You should be able to get the visits reduced since he is not honoring them anyway but you will need a record of this (and if it is just a time or two close together, things do happen so you may need to give it several months to get a pattern).
Since he is already on supervised visits, something is amiss. Then add that he is skipping visit, I suggest you keep a log and then yes, enter this back into the courts. It is very unhealthy to present to a child they are going to visit a loved one who then skips out on them.
My daughter is upset if her Uncle doesn't show up, I couldn't imagine how hurt she would be if it were her Dad.
My Dad used to do this to my sisters. They would wait at the window watching to see him pull up. He never did. I think this caused some emotional damage to them that they had a hard time letting go of as adults.
Document it. It is great there is a witness. This will help you with the judge.
Updated
Document it. It is great there is a witness. This will help you with the judge.
Yes, you can take him to court to change visit arrangements. I don't know if the judge would cancel them. The judge may be able to pass judgment against him. He's unlikely to cancel visits at the first court hearing. It's most likely that he'll read him the riot act and threaten to cancel them if this continues.
You need to have documentation of all visits; both those he appeared for and those he missed and any reasons, if any, he gave. Also document the effect this has had on your son. Describe his behavior with each visit, if possible. The inconvenience for you doesn't matter to the judge but the negative affect on your son does.
I recommend that you talk with an attorney who has experience in this court. He'll know what the policy is in your jurisdiction.
It is court ordered that your child be there whether the father shows up or not. Until you go back to court for a hearing and show documentation he is not visiting then you can't do anything.
All this is going in your favor, he is showing he is a bad parent. Unless it is job related or something credible he is going to have a hard time ever taking you to court for custody or anything to get him more rights or unsupervised visitation.
Don't show up with the kid one time and he'll get the idea that he has to be there at the appointed hour on the day set aside for the visit. If he's having supervised visits something is already really wrong.
Is he on drugs?
i would consult a family attorney if you have not got one or go back to mediation since obvisiously this schedule does not work for him and it is affecting your job you cannot keep letting him do it. we all know court takes awhile so i would just get a date set for the good of your child they should not have to go through that emotional tormoil neither should you. it will be up to the courts whether they take away visitation or not just be calm concerned for your child and your job.
if there is any supervisor you can talk to at work just try to let them know your situation without tons of drama a lot of people can be symphatic because if they haven't been in a custody battle they know someone who has...be the all star while you are there at work.
in any custody situation keep a careful journal of all dates and occurances normal and unusual of your daily rountine you will be suprised how that will come in handy when you need to pull up examples or dates for the court.
just to let you know if you do get fired or have to quit, having to take care of your child is reason enough to recieve unemployment if you had to file do not take no for an answer appeal to the Unemployment board.
