Indiana Parenting Time: Recourse If Denied Communication With Children

If your order for parenting time and child custody incorporates the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines, then those would apply in a situation where a parent is denying communication between the children and the other parent.

The Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines state:

“Both parents shall have reasonable phone access to their child. Telephone communication with the child by either parent to the residence where the child is located shall be conducted at reasonable hours, shall be of reasonable duration, and at reasonable intervals, without interference from the other parent.”

The Guidelines suggest that parents should agree on a specified time for telephone calls so that a child will be available to receive the call.

The Guidelines further suggest that the child may call either parent at reasonable hours, frequencies, and at the cost of the parent called if it is a long distance call.

Interference With Communication Examples

Examples of unacceptable interference with communication listed in the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines include:

1. A parent refusing to answer a phone or refusing to allow the child or others to answer;
2. A parent recording phone conversations between the other parent and the child;
3. Turning off the phone or using a call blocking mechanism; or
4. Otherwise denying the other parent telephone contact with the child.

The Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines also provide that:

“a parent and a child shall have a right to communicate privately by e-mail and faxes, and by cards, letters, and packages, without interference by the other parent… The same provisions above apply to electronic communications of any kind. However, these provisions shall not be construed to interfere with the authority of either parent to impose reasonable restrictions to a child’s access to the Internet.”

If the child’s mother continues to interfere in the communication with the child, then you may file a request for a hearing on the mother’s actions.

Indiana Divorce Lawyer

Your best recourse would be to seek out immediate legal assistance from an attorney who focuses on domestic litigation, such as the Cordell & Cordell Indiana divorce lawyers who serve clients in all Indiana counties.