What if my ex refuses to allow visitation with my child?

Visitation problems are extremely common between unmarried and married parents alike.  The answers given below are only general guidelines to help get you started in the right direction.  You should talk to a licensed attorney; however, if this is not possible, know that as a rule, two main categories exist for unmarried parents in Ohio:

• Unmarried parents that have not yet been through the adjudication process for custody issues
• Unmarried parents with orders from a court outlining custody or shared parenting orders

First, parental alienation usually occurs when one parent withholds a child from another or degrades the other parent in front of the child.  This type of estrangement is inexcusable and irresponsible, except in instances where a parent is truthfully acting in the child's best interest.  Typically, when one parent disallows the other to spent time with their child, the child suffers most.  In any case, the steps necessary to correct this problem will depend on your particular circumstances, according to the common groups listed earlier.  To be clear, let us look at each one of them separately:

Unmarried Parents - No Custody Orders

If unmarried parents have a child together, as described within the custodial parent page of this website, then the mother is the sole custodial and residential parent of the child under the current descriptions of parentage law in Ohio.  Unless an unmarried father has custodial rights from a court, he does not have any right to see his child, period.  He needs ask the court for this right.  Therefore, in an instance like this, where a girlfriend, ex-girlfriend or unmarried mother will not let you see your child and no orders exist that say you are allowed to have time with the child, the answer is to file a complaint to establish a parent and child relationship.  This will need to be done in a court of competent jurisdiction, which means that in counties that have a Domestic Relations Court, you will usually file it there.  In some areas, these complaints are simply filed with the Court of Common Pleas, as the domestic relations division may not exist there.  You will need to do some checking, in order to discover which court in your area is suitable for filing these types of cases.

Unmarried Parents - Custody Orders in Place

These parentage cases are different from the ones listed in the first section.  If a court order is in place, signed by a judge or magistrate, that specifically allows for parenting time between you and your child and the other parent does not honor the terms of this order, they may be in violation of that order.  It is noteworthy to mention that the word may is used for a reason.  Along with your right to spend time with your child, as the father, the mother has the right and obligation to ensure the safety of your child.  If the reason you do not have time with your child is out of concern for the child's well being, it could be a perfectly acceptable reason to deny your rights for visitation.  Each case is different and safety is only one potential, reasonable cause for refusing court ordered time.  Find out the real motives behind the denial of your fatherly rights before doing anything.  Occasionally, these issues can be resolved out of court, sometimes not.

Should you believe that safety is not a realistic issue in your case, and no other reasonable grounds exist that should require your visitation rights to be extinguished, the other parent may very well be in contempt of court.  Keep in mind that this is only if you already have a court order in place.  For example, if you have orders under a shared parenting plan or a sole custody arrangement with a Standard Order of Visitation in place, this section is for you.  A casual agreement with the other parent does not qualify!  The terms described here must have been adopted by a court to be legally valid!  You cannot file for contempt if you do not have such an order.

To bring charges of Contempt of Court, if you do not currently have an open court case, you will need to find what is called a Post-Decree Motion.  This is separate, however, from your contempt motion and the clerk's office.  The word Decree refers to an order; so, Post-Decree Motion essentially means "after an order motion."  It is what you file after orders are already set between parents.  Divorced parents use Post Decree Motions as well, but as an unmarried father, this step is necessary to put your case back on the court's calendar.  As with other aspects in parentage cases, you will need to check with your local Clerk of Court's office for the specific filing requirements they have in these instances.  Jurisdictions will vary in their conditions.