Is there a parenting plan in place? If so, the police can’t just refuse you your residential time. But be careful—these situations can turn into protection order cases very quickly. You should contact an attorney immediately. If your sister’s actions are not justified, then a contempt of court motion might be in order, but that’s very fact-specific.
@Graydon
Do they set up custody plans between siblings often? I know grandparents can sometimes get visitation rights, but I’ve never heard of ‘aunt rights.’
Ash said:
@Graydon
Do they set up custody plans between siblings often? I know grandparents can sometimes get visitation rights, but I’ve never heard of ‘aunt rights.’
It’s rare, but it can happen in certain circumstances. Look up ‘third-party visitation RCW.’
@Graydon
Generally, the police won’t enforce custody or visitation orders. They’ll just tell you to handle it in court.
Toni said:
@Graydon
Generally, the police won’t enforce custody or visitation orders. They’ll just tell you to handle it in court.
There are some places where they do.
Toni said:
@Graydon
Generally, the police won’t enforce custody or visitation orders. They’ll just tell you to handle it in court.
There are some places where they do.
Those places are the exception. In most jurisdictions, police won’t get involved unless there is a court order granting 100% custody. It also sounds like there’s relevant information missing here since it’s OP’s sister who has the child.
I’m sorry, but where did the cops take your child? They wouldn’t just hand them over to your sister without a court order.
Stevie said:
I’m sorry, but where did the cops take your child? They wouldn’t just hand them over to your sister without a court order.
It doesn’t sound like the cops took the child—it seems like the sister did. OP might have called the police to get her child back, and when they talked to the sister, she said there was an emergency custody order against OP, so the police didn’t intervene.
@Devon
The police should ask to see that order.
The police often don’t get involved in custody disputes unless they have explicit court orders. It’s not uncommon, but it’s definitely not ideal.
@Devon
That makes more sense, though it’s still terrible.
If there is a case, you need to call the courthouse. You should have been served if there was an emergency custody order. When the police show up, they need to see a court order. File a petition for habeas corpus to get the emergency return of your child. Go back to the original judge, and if it’s approved, you can then call the local police or sheriff to escort you to your sister’s location.
Once this is resolved, you should also consider a civil case against your sister. If there’s no court case, you can report this as kidnapping unless your sister has some legal agreement.
Toni said:
@Jesse
“File a petition for habeas corpus.” That doesn’t apply here—this isn’t a case of unlawful imprisonment.
Actually, habeas corpus can be used in family law to challenge the legality of custody arrangements when a child is being unlawfully detained by someone else. Here’s a reference: