What Happens If I Don’t Return my Kids On Time?

When parents aren’t together, they commonly share physical custody of their minor children. This can include a day-to-day schedule as well as switching off holidays and dividing up school breaks.

Families have different custody schedules and expectations. This includes how the children go between their parents’ homes. Most parents have a set time for switching. Others may have flexibility. In some cases, a third party may handle moving the children between the two residences.

The question arises when parents miss the expected drop-off time. In some cases, failing to hand off children to another parent can affect a parent’s future custody of the children.

If you’re a parent in Pennsylvania dealing with custody issues, contact the LLF Law Firm Family Law Team. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out our online form.

Failing to Return Children

Recently a Delaware situation went regionally viral as a Gold Alert for four siblings was issued, naming their father, who had them in violation of a court order. The four siblings were last seen on Dec. 5, the Gold Alert was issued on Dec. 8, and the siblings were located the following day.

This isn’t an unusual situation. A year earlier, a Pennsylvania woman was arrested in Ohio after taking her children over state lines. While she was the biological parent, the four children had been with a legal guardian for the past year. The mother had visitation rights and had agreed to return the children by 4:30 pm on June 15.

A week and a half later, Allegheny County issued an emergency order for the children’s return and later filed four felony counts of interference in the custody of minors. The woman and her children were found on July 5 in Ohio. The children were returned to their legal guardian.

The Penalties for Ignoring Custody Agreements

Failing to abide by custody agreements or visitation schedules can carry serious penalties for parents, including limiting their access to their children. How severely or repeatedly a parent is violating the custody agreement usually determines the outcome.

Being occasionally late with a custody drop-off, especially with a reason, isn’t going to result in a change of custody. Repeatedly and regularly ignoring planned times to switch custody, however, may result in the court placing stricter requirements on a parent.

More severe cases, such as keeping children for days or disappearing without contacting the other parent or the children’s legal guardian, can result in a parent losing custody rights and even visitation. In the most serious cases, parents may face criminal charges. Pennsylvania has laws involving parental kidnapping, which occur when a parent takes a child away from a parent or legal guardian without permission.

Child Safety and Custody

If parents don’t want to return their children to the other parent due to concerns about risks to their children’s health and safety, parents should work with their attorney to limit the other parent’s access to the children. Simply ignoring a custody order and disappearing may result in the opposite outcome of what parents want.

In situations when parents have good cause to worry about imminent and provable risks to their child’s safety, they should seek an emergency custody order. The LLF Law Firm Family Law Team can assist parents who want to pursue a change in custody related to safeguarding their children’s health and safety.

Don’t Lose Access to Your Children

Ignoring custody agreements or orders and keeping children past the agreed-upon time often backfires on parents. It can result in limiting their time with their children. In some cases, their custody time may switch to visitation. In extreme situations, they may face criminal charges.

If you believe your custody agreement is unfair or if you think the other parent poses a danger to your children, there are solutions other than ignoring a custody agreement. The LLF Law Firm Family Law Team can help you.

Whatever your custody issue in Pennsylvania, the LLF Law Firm Family Law Team is here to assist you. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out our online form.