Dealing with your child refusing to spend time with their other parent can be difficult. You may feel caught between respecting your child’s feelings and following the parenting schedule you agreed to or received from the court. The situation can become more complicated when you and the other parent disagree about what is going on or what you should do about it.
Here is what you can expect if the disagreement reaches family court.
The existing parenting schedule still stands
Your existing court order generally remains active and enforceable even when your child does not want to see their other parent. Their refusal does not automatically cancel or change the schedule, so you should not assume that you can simply stop following it.
If both parents cannot agree about how to handle the situation, either may ask the court to address the missed parenting time and determine what should happen next.
Either party may ask the court to intervene
You or your co-parent can ask the court to address missed parenting time if you cannot resolve the dispute between yourselves. Arizona law allows a court to review alleged violations of a parenting-time order and, when appropriate, order remedies such as makeup parenting time, counseling, parent education or mediation.
That does not mean your child’s refusal automatically makes you responsible for violating the order. The court must consider the circumstances, including whether you had good cause for not following the schedule.
Family court may look into the matter
The judge may examine the circumstances behind the refusal rather than simply accepting either parent’s explanation. Arizona law requires courts to consider the child’s wishes when the child has suitable age and maturity. They also account for other factors, such as the child’s relationships with each parent and each parent’s willingness to support meaningful contact with the other parent.
If concerns arise about whether a parent influenced the child’s decision, the judge may consider those circumstances as part of its overall review. In a contested parenting-time case, the court also may order an investigation and report concerning the child’s parenting arrangement.
The child may have an opportunity to speak
The court may interview your child privately to learn the child’s wishes about parenting time. This does not give your child the final say over the schedule. Instead, the child’s perspective can give the court additional information when it evaluates the family’s circumstances. This is especially important if the judge feels like your child may have concerns they do not want to discuss openly but may give more context to their refusal.
The court may change the parenting arrangement
If the evidence supports a different arrangement, the court can modify parenting time when doing so serves the child’s best interests. The court may consider the child’s wishes and the reasons behind them, rather than treating the refusal alone as a reason to change the order.
Protect your child while addressing the dispute
Ultimately, an ongoing refusal can create a difficult custody dispute that you should not try to resolve by putting your child in the middle. If the situation continues, consider having an attorney review your existing parenting order, the circumstances surrounding the refusal and your options for addressing the dispute in court. That guidance can help you respond appropriately while keeping your child’s needs at the center of the process.