| Of all the threats one parent can make against | | | | between the parties. One parent claims they are |
| another parent, the threat of keeping your child | | | | paying the other parents bills, and another parent |
| from you is likely the most painful. Angry parents | | | | may use it to taunt, claiming the payment is |
| will look for reasons to withhold visitation, but | | | | justice for past transgressions. But did you notice |
| what do the courts say about it? | | | | what had no bearing whatsoever in this scenario, |
| The courts primary responsibility is to protect the | | | | the child’s right to spend time with each |
| best interest of the child. This means that | | | | parent. |
| regardless of child support covered medical | | | | Now let’s get back to the courts obligation, |
| expenses, daycare, alimony or any other | | | | protecting the best interest of the child. In the |
| financially binding items that one parent may owe | | | | above situation, the child wasn’t involved in |
| another parent; this lack of payment cannot be | | | | any way, only the money to support them. So |
| used to keep the child from spending time with | | | | why would a loving parent use the child as a |
| the other parent. | | | | weapon against the other parent? Only a parent |
| Children’s rights to have visitation with both | | | | whose hatred and bitterness outweighed the love |
| parents trumps just about everything but the | | | | of their child would act this way. If a parents’ |
| child’s safety. In fact, this right is so highly | | | | bitterness outweighed their love enough to do |
| regarded that if a parent deliberately withheld | | | | something to hurt the child (keeping them from |
| visitation it could be seen as jeopardizing the | | | | seeing their other parent) this could certainly be |
| child’s relationship with the other parent and | | | | grounds to claim "material change of |
| could be used as a "material change of | | | | circumstances" and ask the court to revisit the |
| circumstances" to revisit the question of who the | | | | custody order. |
| custodial parent should be. | | | | It should be very clear now that while withholding |
| This bears a bit more investigation to understand | | | | child support is a serious offense, using the child |
| why visitation is deemed to be so important. A | | | | as a weapon against it is a worse offense. No |
| parent has the right to expect that court ordered, | | | | matter who the child’s parent is or what they |
| or agreed, child support will be paid on time. This | | | | do, the child has the right to have a relationship |
| financial transaction of “child support” is | | | | with them and interfering with that relationship, |
| often attached to a lot of anger and bitterness | | | | for any reason, is an extremely serious breach of |
| between the parties. Money is used as a weapon | | | | the child’s rights. |