As we discussed in our last post, this time of year is difficult for divorced parents who aren’t able to spend time with their children. Child custody arrangements don’t put an end to a parent’s love for their children, after all. But defying these arrangements isn’t a good idea, either. Usually doing so just makes things worse by decreasing the time noncustodial parents and kids are able to spend together.
A woman who was arrested recently in Texas could have a tough time making a case for more time with her daughters. State authorities said she was on the run with the two girls and tried to cross the border into Mexico, but didn’t have the proper documentation to do so.
The mother had traveled from Missouri, where she was supposed to return her 4-year-old daughter to the girl’s father after a weekend visit. He ended up filing a missing persons report after the mother and daughter failed to show up. He said it took another five days for police to treat their disappearance as a criminal matter. But once they did, they worked with Texas authorities to track down the woman and her daughter. The 4-year-old girl and the woman’s older daughter, who is 16 and has a different father, were placed in custody of Texas Child Protective Services until both fathers could travel to Texas and pick them up.
The mother, meanwhile, was held in the county jail in Rio Grande City, Texas, on charges of parental interference and endangering the welfare of a minor. The former charge is a felony; if convicted, the mother could see her daughters even less in the future.
Irrational decisions like this woman’s are never in a child’s or a parent’s best interest, no matter how entitled the parent feels in regards to child custody. A much better option is to work with a family law attorney on ways to increase the visitation time for noncustodial parents and their children.
Source: Fox 4 News, “Metro Dad Reunited with Daughter Following Custody Dispute Disappearance,” Rob Low and Jason M. Vaughn, Dec. 19, 2012
- Our firm works with parents in a variety of child custody situations. To learn more about our practice, please visit our Dallas child custody page.