Texas Child Visitation Enforcement – How to File a Motion for Enforcement by Contempt

Get a Certified Copy of the Final or Temporary Order You Want to Enforce

First, get a certified copy of the order granting you possession or access. Read it carefully. Make sure that you are in compliance. Is your child support up to date? Have you notified the court, the child support disbursement unit, and the other parent of any changes to your address, employer, etc.? If you are behind on child support, you can still inforce possession and access, but be prepared for the other parent to file an enforcement against you. An enforcement for child support is a lot easier to prove since the state keeps track of payments.

Review the Evidence of Order Violations

Next, review the evidence. Do you have the evidence you need to prove you were denied access beyond a reasonable doubt? How do you intend to prove that you were at the pickup location at the appointed time? Do you have receipts? Pictures? Make sure you have what you need before you file. If not, gather more evidence. See Custody Enforcement Mistakes

Determine the Correct County to File your Motion for Enforcement

You may need to do a little research to determine the correct county in which to file. If you file in the wrong county, there may be additional costs to transfer your case.

Read the local rules in the court where the order is filed or registered. You can usually find them by searching “[County Name] Local Rules” on the web.  It is always good to familiarize yourself with the local rules, and there may be some information you want to know before you file.

Prepare the Motion for Enforcement of Possession or Access

There are form motions at TexasLawHelp.org that you can use as an example. Search for the “Visitation Enforcement Kit”. I am not endorsing this kit except as a place to get started. There are some things I do not like about motion included with this kit. For one thing, you need to have excerpts of the portions of the order that were violated before the list of violations. For possession an access, this is usually in separate parts: the part that states when visitation is to occur and the part that states where the other parent is to surrender the child. There may also be other portions that need to be quoted.

In general, the motion should state the relevant portions of the order violated. It should state who violated the order for each violation. It should also state when, where, and how the order was violated for each violation. It also needs to state the relief you are requesting and ask for clarification of the order if it is not specific enough to enforce. The order you want to enforce should be attached as an exhibit.

File the Motion for Enforcement of Possession or Access

You will need to file the motion in accordance with the local rules, but the basic requirements are the same. You need to file the motion and order to appear and request citation. You need to ask for a hearing date at least thirty days away. The respondent has until the 10:00 AM on the first Monday following 20 days to answer. If you want to do discovery, there will need to be extra time for that.

Serve the Citation, Motion, and Order to Appear

Once that is done you need to serve the citation, motion, and order to appear. Usually this is by constable service, but check with your local courthouse. In order to enforce by contempt, the respondent has to be personally served.

Now you can move on to figuring out how to prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

Good Luck!