Visitation Enforcement Kit
If you have a Texas court order that allows you to spend time with your children, but the other parent wo ’t follow the order, this kit ca help you e force that order.
This Kit includes the following documents:
1.Sample Demand Letter for Visitation (1 page)
Reminds the other parent of the legal consequences for violating the court order
2.What Counts as a Denial of Visitation??? (1 page) and theVisitation Journal (3 pages) Documents the denied visitation to prepare your case for court
3.Court at a Glance (1 page)
Describes the seven steps to enforcing your order
4.Step 1: Do Your Homework (1 page)
Outlines the first step involved in filing your case
5.Step 2: File your Motion, Set your Hearing (1 page) Explains the second step in your case)
6.Motion for Enforcement of Visitation Order (9 pages)
The docu e t that’s filed to start your legal action.
7.Step 3: Ask the Judge to sign the Order to Appear (1 page) Explains the third step in your case
8.Order to Appear and Show Cause (1 page)
Order, signed by a judge ordering the other party to come to court for your hearing
9.Step 4: Give Legal Notice (1 page)
Explains the fourth step in your case.
10.Step 5: Prepare for Hearing (1 page) Explains the fifth step in your case.
11.Sample Testimony (8 pages)
Can be used as a sample to help you prepare your testimony.
12.Step 6: Hearing (1 page)
Describes the sixth step in your case.
13.Step 7: Decision (1 page)
Describes the seventh step in your case.
14.Order for Capias and Setting Bond (2 pages, an order for the judge to sign, requesting the arrest of the Respondent, if the Respondent was served with legal notice of your hearing, but did not appear in court.)
15.Capias (2 pages, issues by the District Clerk, if the judge signed an Order for Capias)
16.Order on Motion for Enforcement of Visitation Order (7 page order, signed by the judge after your hearing.)
[DATE]
[Custodial Parent]
[Custodial Parent’s Address]
Re: Notice to Exercise Court-Ordered Possession and Access (Visitation)
Dear [Custodial Parent]:
Iplan to see our [children / child], according to the court-ordered possession and access (visitation) schedule, as written in the most recent court order which was signed by the judge in our case in Cause No. ______ (cause number).
Iwill be at
□[your residence at 6:00 pm]
OR
□[the school where our [children /child] is enrolled, when school is dismissed]
OR
□[Other fill in the time and place where your visitation is ordered to take place. ]
on [the date designated in the court order for you to take possession] to exercise my rights to see our [children / child].
You should have our [children / child ]ready for my visitation as provided for in the court order.
I will return our [children / child] to you as required by the court order.
I intend to continue exercising my possession and access (visitation) rights according to the court ordered schedule from now on.
Interfering with my court-ordered access and visitation rights could result in a contempt action being filed against you. Failure to pay child support is not a justification or defense to a charge of contempt for interference with court-ordered visitation rights. If a court
finds you in contempt for denying me court-ordered access to our [children / child] the court may sentence you to jail time, and order you to pay a fine, attorney’s fees and
court costs. It would be best for everyone, especially our [children / child], to avoid such litigation.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Your Telephone]
WHAT COUNTS AS A DENIAL OF VISITATION???
To enforce your visitation order and ask the court to hold the other parent in contempt, you must follow very specific rules when you try to exercise your visitation.
You are not technically denied visitation unless you actually appear in person at the pick-up location listed in your court order, even if the other parent has already told you that she will not be there or that she will not be giving you your child.
By not producing the child at the pick-up location at a certain date and time, the other parent is violating the court order. However, that parent cannot be required to testify against herself in court, so you have to be able to testify
that you were there and she was not.
APRIL 11th
6 pm – pick up son at
his mother’s house
Step 1: Look at your court order, or at your Visitation Calendar if one has been prepared for you. Find the next exact date and time that you are supposed to pick up your child.
Step 2: Arrive at the pick-up location at the exact date and time you are supposed to be there. Give yourself plenty of time to get there. If you are early, wait a few minutes.
Step 3: Knock on the door. Wait. Knock on the door again. You must give some indication that you are there and are ready to pick up your child.
Step 4: Try to obtain evidence that you were at the right location at the right date and time. You can take a witness with you to observe what happened. You can go to a nearby convenience store or fast food restaurant and buy a drink or a pack of gum, and keep the receipt showing you were in the area at a certain date and time. Some police departments may be willing to file
a report for you.
Step 5: Immediately write down what happened in your visitation journal. Write down the date, time, and place where you tried to pick up your child. If you have a witness, write down his or her name. If you have a receipt or other evidence, keep it safe.
VISITATION JOURNAL (Use this journal to document your attempts to exercise your court ordered visitation. An accurate and complete Visitation Journal can help you explain your case to the court.)
My name is: _____________________________________________________.
I am the child’s □father. |
□mother. |
□______________________________.
My child’s name is/ My children’s names are: |
(other, please print your relationship to the child.) |
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Child’s Name |
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Child’s Birthday (month, day, and year) |
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The child/ren live(s) with (print name of person child/ren live with):
_____________________________________________________________________.
I have court orders allowing me to see my child/ren on specific days and at specific times. My court order states a specific location for me to pick up my children.
(If you do not have a court order, or your order does not include specific days and times for your visitation, or if your order does not include a specific location for you to exchange your child/ren with the other parent, you will need to go back to court to get an order that includes these things, before a court can enforce your order.)
I have tried to see my children, according to my court order, but the child’s other parent did not allow me to see the child/ren.
This journal records the times I tried to see my child/ren, according to the court ordered schedule. I tried to see my child/ren on the following dates, but was not allowed to.
(Complete the charts with information about when you tried to see your child/ren, according to your court schedule, but were not allowed to. You can copy and add additional charts, if you need to.)
Date |
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Month: ______ |
Day: _______ Year: ________ |
Day (check one.) |
□Monday |
□Tuesday |
□Wednesday □Thursday |
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□Friday |
□Saturday |
□Sunday |
Time |
______:______ |
□am □pm |
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Place |
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(ex. Mother’s residence, |
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McDonald’s, etc.) |
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Address |
Street Address: |
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__________________________________________________________ |
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City, State: |
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Witnesses |
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(List names of people |
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who were there when |
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you tried to see your |
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child/ren.) |
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What happened? |
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(no one home, wouldn’t |
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let me see child/ren, etc) |
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Visitation Journal, Texas Law Help, POLL, April 15, 2011 |
page 1 OF 3 |
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Date |
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Month: ______ |
Day: _______ Year: ________ |
Day (check one.) |
□Monday |
□Tuesday |
□Wednesday □Thursday |
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□Friday |
□Saturday |
□Sunday |
Time |
______:______ |
□am □pm |
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Place |
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(ex. Mother’s residence, |
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McDonald’s, etc.) |
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Address |
Street Address: |
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__________________________________________________________ |
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City, State: |
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Witnesses |
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(List names of people |
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who were there when |
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you tried to see your |
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child/ren.) |
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What happened? |
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let me see child/ren, etc) |
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Date |
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Month: ______ |
Day: _______ Year: ________ |
Day (check one.) |
□Monday |
□Tuesday |
□Wednesday □Thursday |
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□Friday |
□Saturday |
□Sunday |
Time |
______:______ |
□am □pm |
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Place |
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(ex. Mother’s residence, |
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McDonald’s, etc.) |
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Address |
Street Address: |
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__________________________________________________________ |
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City, State: |
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Witnesses |
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(List names of people |
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who were there when |
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you tried to see your |
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child/ren.) |
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What happened? |
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let me see child/ren, etc) |
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Visitation Journal, Texas Law Help, POLL, April 15, 2011 page 2 OF 3
Date |
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Month: ______ |
Day: _______ Year: ________ |
Day (check one.) |
□Monday □Tuesday □Wednesday □Thursday |
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□Friday □Saturday □Sunday |
Time |
______:______ |
□am □pm |
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Place |
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(ex. Mother’s residence, |
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McDonald’s, etc.) |
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Address |
Street Address: |
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__________________________________________________________ |
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City, State: |
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Witnesses |
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(List names of people |
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who were there when |
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you tried to see your |
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child/ren.) |
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What happened? |
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let me see child/ren, etc) |
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Date |
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Month: ______ |
Day: _______ Year: ________ |
Day (check one.) |
□Monday |
□Tuesday |
□Wednesday □Thursday |
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□Friday |
□Saturday |
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Time |
______:______ |
□am □pm |
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Place |
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(ex. Mother’s residence, |
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McDonald’s, etc.) |
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Address |
Street Address: |
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__________________________________________________________ |
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City, State: |
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Witnesses |
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who were there when |
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you tried to see your |
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child/ren.) |
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What happened? |
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Visitation Journal, Texas Law Help, POLL, April 15, 2011 page 3 OF 3
Court at a Glance, Enforcement Kit
There are basically 7 steps in enforcement cases.
Step 1: Do your Homework.
Step 2: File your Motion, and set your hearing
Step 3: Ask the Judge to sign the Order to Appear
Step 4: Give Legal Notice
Tell the other party what you want.
(Process server or Post Office does this for you.)
Step 5: Prepare for Hearing
More homework.
Step 6: Hearing
Ask the judge for what you want, and explain why you should get it.
Step 6: Decision
The Judge decides whether or not you should get what you asked for.
You give the judge an Order to sign.
The order needs to say exactly what the judge decided.
Court at a Glance, Visitation Enforcement, Texas Law Help, POLL, April 15, 2011
Step 1: Do your Homework
For “tep O e, you’ll need the following:
Civil Case Information Sheet you’ll get this fro the District Clerk’s office.
Motion for Enforcement of Visitation Order
1.Civil Case Information Sheet get this when you are at the District Clerk’s Office.
Complete it.
Make a copy for your records. (The District Clerk will keep the original.)
2.Motion for Enforcement of Possession or Access
Read through the Motion for Enforcement of Visitation Order and Order to Appear very
carefully. Fill in your case information in the blank spaces. Check only those boxes that apply i your case. If you’re ot sure what to put i the la ks, talk to a lawyer.
Sign the last page of the Motion for Enforcement of Possession or Access, in front of a notary.
Make a copy for yourself and for every party in your case (The District Clerk will keep the original.)
3.Filing Fee
Be prepared to pay a filing fee to the clerk when you file your papers.
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Call the District Clerk to fi d out how |
uch you’ll ha e to pay. |
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If you ca ’t afford to pay, you ca file a |
Affidavit of Inability to Pay Costs, which asks |
the court to waive the filing fees.
You can get this form from the this we site’s www.TexasLawHelp.org ) alphabetical list of forms
4.Learn how to set the hearing, and have the judge sign your Order to Appear
Call the judge’s court coordi ator,
_________________________________________________________(name), at
_________________________________________________________ (phone).
E plai that you’re fili g a Motion to Enforce, and you need know :
1.What the procedure is to get the judge to sign the Order to Appear, and
2.What the procedure is to set the motion for a hearing.
Write the instructions down here:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Court at a Glance, Visitation Enforcement, Texas Law Help, POLL, April 15, 2011
STEPS 2 - 4 will be completed the same day
and at the courthouse
Step 2: File your Motion, and set your hearing
For Step Two, you’ll eed the followi g:
Civil Case Information Sheet get this fro the District Clerk’s Office
Motion for Enforcement of Visitation Order
A check or money order for your filing fee (or the Affidavit of Inability to Pay Costs)
1.File your papers with the District Clerk’s Office in the county where you got the order that you’re trying to enforce.
Take your documents (and your copies) to the District Clerk’s Office.
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Tell the clerk you’re there to file a Motio |
to E force, a d ha |
d the clerk all of your |
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documents. (Place the original on top, and the copies of each document behind the |
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original.) |
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The clerk will file sta p your papers, |
oti g the date whe |
you filed your Motio . |
The clerk will give you your copies, but will keep the original for the court’s file.
Make sure to keep a copy of everything for yourself.
2.Set the Hearing
Follow the Court Coordinator’s i structio s to set a hearing to have your motion heard. (You should have written them in Step One: Do your Homework.)
Be sure to set your case at least 20 days from the date you file your motion. This
will give you enough time to give the other parties legal notice. The parties must ha e at least days’ otice for a co te pt heari g.
Court at a Glance, Visitation Enforcement, Texas Law Help, POLL, April 15, 2011
In the interest of (List children): |
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1 |
Name: |
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§ Cause No: |
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Name: |
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Name: |
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§ In the __________ District County Court of: |
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Name: |
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County, T |
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MOTION FOR ENFORCEMENT OF VISITATION ORDER
1.DISCOVERY LEVEL
Discovery should be conducted under Level 2 of Rule 190 of the Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure. [Discovery is a procedure that can be used by parties in a lawsuit to find out information about the other party.]
2.PARTIES
Petitioner [You]
I am the Movant.
My name is ___________________________________________________________.
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[PRINT your full name] |
I live at |
__________________________________________________________ |
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[address]. |
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I am the child/ren’s [CHECK one.] |
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mother. |
father. |
______________________________ . |
I am the child/ren’s [CHECK one.] |
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Joint Managing Conservator. |
Possessory Conservator. |
Respondent
The child lives with the Respondent. The Respondent in this case is the child’s:
mother. |
father. |
______________________________ . |
Respondent is the child/ren’s [CHECK one.] |
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Joint Managing Conservator. |
Possessory Conservator |
The Respondent’s name is:
______________________________________________________________________.
[PRINT Respondent’s full name]
1 OF 9
Motion for Enforcement of Visitation, Texas Law Help, POLL, April 15, 2011
