A Florida family law judge’s primary responsibility in child custody cases to make decisions that they believe are in your son or daughter’s best interests. Many of them take this to mean that they should only approve parenting plan orders that allow both you and your ex to spend equal amounts of time with your child. If there’s an existing visitation order in place and something happens that makes you uneasy about turning over your child to their other parent; then you’ll want to be cautious about handling the situation. If you’re not, then you may unnecessarily expose yourself to legal liability.
In some jurisdictions, moms and dads may not have to turn over their child to their other parent if they’re aware that they haven’t adequately secured weapons or due to some other dangerous in-home living arrangement situations. Similarly, you may need to withhold access to your child if you suspect physical or sexual abuse in the other parent’s household.
There are specific reasons that a judge is unlikely to accept as a justification for why you failed to allow for your child’s court-ordered visitation with their other parent. It’s generally not a valid enough reason for a mom or dad to withhold custody simply because they’re not happy with the way their ex spends time with their son or daughter. A judge may hold any parent who uses this excuse to justify their actions in contempt of court.
One of the best things you can do if you are worried about your child’s safety during visitation with their other parent is to seek legal help right away. It may be possible to modify their existing court order through an emergency order while you try to sort out the issues.
