My Ex Disappears and doesn’t Show up for Designated Visitation, Can I File for Sole Custody Without Visitation?


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“I have been divorced for a few months now, my ex is turning out to be the typical dead beat dad. He disappears for days without returning phone calls and/or text messages, and no one knows where he is. Right now I have sole physical and we have joint legal custody, I want sole custody of all 3 kids without visitation. He doesn’t show up when he says he will, and I’m sick of making excuses for him to the kids. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make him give up his rights to them, or at least give me sole custody with supervised visitation.”If he wants to sign an agreement with you to forego his parental custodial rights then that would likely be accepted by the Court. Failing that, you would need to file for a modification of the custody and visitation schedule (timeshare).

Question: Without going through additional court proceedings, you might be able to come to an agreement to attend some sort of co-parent counseling to teach both of you how to interact as a divorcing couple for the sake of the children. I suggest this because in general it is in children’s best interests to have a relationship with both parents. It is also usually not in children’s best interests for their parents to travel back and forth to court a lot.