Hi,
I’m wondering what kind of issues people have dealt with in trying to get MORE access for the non-custodial parent. I realize this is a bit different than the norm ‘both parents fighting for custody/access and as much of it as possible’ but, in my case, I’d like for our son to have MORE access with his father. Our son is only 2.5 years old. We were never married, didn’t live together and broke up before I gave birth. To make matters even more tough, he lives on Chicago and I live in Ottawa. He saw our son for the first time when he was 10 months old and so far, has seen our son for a total of 20 hours. The last time he saw our son was 6 months ago.
Here’s the issue. We are in the middle of litigation that HE brought forward, and yet, is delaying the process as much as possible, and has hardly seen his son at all. I’ve offered and offered and offered access but it doesn’t happen regularaly at all. In his court documents, he says that he plans to come to Ottawa every three months to see our son from Fri to Mon but that has not yet happened once. Like I said, the last time he saw him was 6 months and it was for one day only for 4 hours.I know there is distance between us, but, I’d like for our son to have MORE access with his father so that he can actually develop a relationship with him and know who he is. My issue is that his father seems to just want to drop in and drop out of his life when it suits his fancy and is convenient for him. I don’t think that is good for our son. I think his father should either be ‘in or out’, so to speak. Right now, he is a ‘fair-weather’ father that comes in and out of his life when he wants to. I know there is distance between us, so I don’t expect him to see him every other day (which would be ideal considering our son’s age) or every weekend but maybe every other weekend, or something that is at least consistent. Is that too much to ask? I’m concerned what kind of effect his current drop-in visitation for a few hours every few months will have on our son in future and I’m at the point where I’d like to say ‘shit or get off the pot’. I don’t think it’s in our son’s interests to have a father that immerses himself in his life when he wants to and then just as quickly plucks himself out of it for months at a time.
Have people had any success in arguing for MORE access for the non-custodial parent?
Or, what about the alternative, have people had success in stopping visitation because it is virtually non-existent and such limited contact is not in the best interests of the child? Or, do the courts take the position that any access, no matter how small, is beneficial to the child?
I’m wondering what kind of issues people have dealt with in trying to get MORE access for the non-custodial parent. I realize this is a bit different than the norm ‘both parents fighting for custody/access and as much of it as possible’ but, in my case, I’d like for our son to have MORE access with his father. Our son is only 2.5 years old. We were never married, didn’t live together and broke up before I gave birth. To make matters even more tough, he lives on Chicago and I live in Ottawa. He saw our son for the first time when he was 10 months old and so far, has seen our son for a total of 20 hours. The last time he saw our son was 6 months ago.
Here’s the issue. We are in the middle of litigation that HE brought forward, and yet, is delaying the process as much as possible, and has hardly seen his son at all. I’ve offered and offered and offered access but it doesn’t happen regularaly at all. In his court documents, he says that he plans to come to Ottawa every three months to see our son from Fri to Mon but that has not yet happened once. Like I said, the last time he saw him was 6 months and it was for one day only for 4 hours.I know there is distance between us, but, I’d like for our son to have MORE access with his father so that he can actually develop a relationship with him and know who he is. My issue is that his father seems to just want to drop in and drop out of his life when it suits his fancy and is convenient for him. I don’t think that is good for our son. I think his father should either be ‘in or out’, so to speak. Right now, he is a ‘fair-weather’ father that comes in and out of his life when he wants to. I know there is distance between us, so I don’t expect him to see him every other day (which would be ideal considering our son’s age) or every weekend but maybe every other weekend, or something that is at least consistent. Is that too much to ask? I’m concerned what kind of effect his current drop-in visitation for a few hours every few months will have on our son in future and I’m at the point where I’d like to say ‘shit or get off the pot’. I don’t think it’s in our son’s interests to have a father that immerses himself in his life when he wants to and then just as quickly plucks himself out of it for months at a time.
Have people had any success in arguing for MORE access for the non-custodial parent?
Or, what about the alternative, have people had success in stopping visitation because it is virtually non-existent and such limited contact is not in the best interests of the child? Or, do the courts take the position that any access, no matter how small, is beneficial to the child?
Comment