Violation of residence arrangements by the father
As is known, the stay arrangements between divorced parents are intended to determine the division of their time with their children. What days and times the mother will be with the children and when the father will spend time with his children. These arrangements are approved by the Family Court and are legally binding.
The question is: What happens when one of the parents does not systematically comply with the stay arrangements for his own reasons?
Can a parent be forced to see his children in accordance with the arrangements made?
As parents, our greatest desire and love is to be with our children. We make great efforts to spend as much time with our children as possible. We invest our time, money, and energy to educate our children and give them a foundation for independence, values, and happiness.
These facts should not change even after the proceedings Divorce and separation of parents.
Despite everything, the question sometimes arises as to what the law is for a father who does not see his children, even though he has signed an agreement. custody With his ex-wife?
In the lawsuit before us, we are forced to Home Family Law Examine a case of failure to honor residence arrangements by the children’s father, and interesting conclusions emerge from the ruling.
Circumstances of the lawsuit filed with the court
The Family Court in Krayot, as part of a proceeding TAMSH 37245-07-13 So-and-so n So-and-so, has long discussed a request filed by the woman against her ex-husband, for failure to comply with residence arrangements (evidence).
This is a divorced couple with two daughters, ages 7 and 9. Initially, there were more frequent visitation arrangements, but these were reduced at the request of the father, who claimed that he was unable to meet the original visitation arrangements because he had a new family to whom he was committed.
As of now, the father’s visitation arrangement with his daughters is only every other weekend. However, even with this arrangement, the father did not comply in the sense that he simply did not see his daughters.
The court initially offered the parties a compromise proposal according to which Child support payments will be reduced. The father pays them, so that he can accept a more frequent stay arrangement, which will also ease the burden on the mother, who mainly bears the burden of raising the children. The father refused.
The mother sought to impose sanctions on the father in light of the violation of the visitation order.
At the same time, the situation is clear, the parents are angry and two little girls simply don’t understand why their father didn’t come to see them at all.
How did the court rule due to the violation of the arrangement?
As a general rule, the court will enforce parental visitation arrangements. The rationale for that enforcement is primarily The child’s best interestsBecause when there is a functioning parent, a relationship between the parent and the child must be maintained and maintained.
Needless to say, a disconnect between parents and children, which begins in childhood, may greatly affect the child’s self-confidence, his perception of life, and his delicate soul.
Another rationale is adherence to the provisions of the law. Parents are the natural guardians of their children, their legal role is to care for and look after them. The law must be enforced.
A long-standing legal rule is that custody and custody arrangements between children and parents are not the property or will of the parents, but the will and property of the children.
Read more about determining visitation arrangements in the separation of same-sex couples.
On the other hand, there is an inherent difficulty in imposing a sanction on a parent who simply does not want to meet his children. In the circumstances, on the one hand, the father pays child support and thus fulfills his duty, is there a place to impose an obligation on him to meet his children? Is it on a moral – social, not legal level, is it really appropriate for the court to get into the thick of things in such sensitive and family circumstances?
As a starting point, the court stated: “The importance of the relationship between the custodial and non-custodial parent lies at the heart of considering the best interests of minors. A parent who undermines the quality of the relationship actually undermines the development of the minor in their care.
Therefore, not only for the sake of the appearance of the system, we must enforce the visitation arrangements, but above all to safeguard the welfare of minors and protect their safety.[…]The starting point is the minors, not their parents; the fact that the parents are confused and emotionally upset by the divorce process does not justify a permit to harm the interests of minors.“.
Also to the question of whether, on a social moral level, it is appropriate for the court to intervene in witness arrangements in such circumstances, the court replied:
“The fact that the legal system does not intervene in the failure to devote time and attention to minors is not accurate and is not an exclusive parameter.
First, custody proceedings, contact procedures, are the source of intervention; therefore, bringing the matter to court itself is what justifies intervention. Second, when the neglect becomes extreme and when the welfare and well-being of a minor is at risk, the social and legal system intervenes, even by taking extreme measures.“.
In the legal proceedings, the father argued that if sanctions were imposed on him, the result would be a serious blow to the family unit, as he would only be able to meet his daughters under duress. To this, the court responded that sanctions should only be imposed in extreme cases. Second, this is an evidentiary settlement that has the force of a judgment.
The court ultimately determined that the circumstances in this case were indeed exceptional enough to impose a sanction on the father. The father had unilaterally separated from his daughters, and in addition, the father was blatantly violating a visitation arrangement to which he had committed, especially since the violation on his part occurred after the visitation arrangements had been significantly reduced at his request.
In addition, these are children who want to have contact with their father. Finally, the court ruled that the father will pay a sum of 350 NIS each time he fails to meet with his daughters and violates the established visitation arrangements.
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