Q & A from the FWW Community - Part 1
Q & A from the FWW Community - Part 1
by Antonio Martinez
Recently a member on our site asked, "If I take the kids on vacation is my ex allowed to contact them via email, phone or text?" The only time she got peace, she said, was when they were on a boat and out of cell phone range.
Every state has different laws, but they all look out for the best interest of the child.
Lynne Strober, an attorney at Mandelbaum, Salsburg, Gold, Lazris & Discenza in New Jersey, says, "Your ex has every right to speak with his children daily and have what is called reasonable contact."
But Ms. Strober has seen a parent abuse this rule.
"There was a case where the mother was much closer to the child than the father and she would constantly call the child, poisoning the child's mind against the father, and would blatantly try to interfere with the father's allotted time."
Jacalyn Barnett Esq., who practices in New York, remembers a case where the father tried to speak with his child on a daily basis, but the mother would stand in the way. She would give flimsy excuses: the child was "in the tub," or just "not available." That was also determined to prevent the father from having reasonable contact.
Situations like this can usually be resolved through an agreement between the parents that the children are allowed, say, 30 minutes a day to speak with the other parent.
In most situations, Barnett and Strober say that such an issue can be sewn up by the parents through open communication, or in worse cases with the help of lawyers or an arbitrator. It is rarely an issue that makes it all the way to the courtroom.
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