Question:
Is it legal for my fiancé’s parents and mother in law to deny him his son’s phone number and visitation rights? Right now he is not allowed to call his son or to take him out alone. These are the rules of the grandparents, not of the court. There is no court ruling him to be an unfit parent or anything else for that matter. The child just lives with the grandmother in New York while the father is in Maine.
Answer:
If there is a court order, then the order should set out the parenting time schedule and no one – especially the grandparents – can interfere with the court order. If there is not a court order, or if the order is vague on a specific parenting time schedule, then your fiancé should probably request that the court order a specific schedule in detail. And request that the grandparents stop interfering. Consult a lawyer in the state in which the action will take place.
Erik H. Carter is a Senior Attorney of the Cordell & Cordell, P.C. office in Indianapolis, Indiana as well as the Litigation Manager of both the Indianapolis and Pittsburgh offices. Mr. Carter has practiced since 1993 as an attorney. He is licensed in Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania as well as the Northern District of Indiana and the Southern District of Indiana.
