Parenting Problems

This page has information about some of the most common problems people have during parenting time after separation.

For information about getting or changing a parenting agreement or parenting order, please go here.

Problems with Parenting Time

When can parenting time be denied?

What can I do if my ex-spouse is not letting me see our children?

First, you should keep detailed written records of each time you are supposed to have parenting time and what happened. Include as much detail as you can. If your ex-spouse gave a reason for denying parenting time, make a note.

If the problem continues, you may apply to the court to enforce the parenting order. You can also ask the judge to add terms to make the other spouse accountable, ensuring your parenting time takes place. For example, you can ask for a term that requires picking up your child at a neutral place like a court, school, or daycare or that a neutral person supervises visits.

The court can help you enforce specific dates and times for parenting time. For example, instead of “reasonable parenting time at reasonable times on reasonable notice,” the court could order that you have parenting time every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and alternate weekends from Friday at 5:30 p.m. to Sunday at 5:30 p.m. The court can also set out summer and holiday parenting schedules.

This type of parenting order creates certainty and:

confirms when you will have parenting time
provides predictability for the child on when they will see you again
adds accountability because the time is specific.

Although parenting orders contain a police enforcement clause, the police will usually not get involved in enforcing a parenting order. Most often, the police just do a wellness check, meaning they will visit the home to confirm the child is safe. You should speak to a lawyer before calling the police. Use this as a last resort.

If you are concerned about the safety of your children, you may also contact your local child protection office.

If your spouse still denies parenting time, the court can find that your spouse is in contempt of court. This means your spouse purposely disobeyed a court order without good cause. If the judge finds this is the case, they can impose a fine or imprisonment on your spouse, though this is rare. In extreme cases, a judge may consider changing which parent the child lives with to resolve parenting time problems.

For more information about contempt of court, go to nsfamilylaw.ca. You should speak with a lawyer if you are considering a contempt application.

Can parents be forced to spend time with their children?

Problems with Relocation or Travel

What if the other parent is threatening to move my children to a different community?

What if the other parent is threatening to take the children out of the country?

Problems with Decision-making

What if we disagree about important medical decisions?

Technically, unless you have a court order or agreement that gives one of the parents medical decision-making responsibility, the expectation is that parents will make important medical decisions jointly.

However, in practice, whether a decision needs to be made jointly depends on:

the age and maturity of the child
the type of medical problem
the decision that needs to be made

It's up to the relevant medical professional to get appropriate consent(s) for treatment. As a child grows up they gradually gain more autonomy and eventually assume responsibility for their own medical decisions. It's up to the medical professional treating the child to assess the child's capacity to give their own consent to treatment.

When the child is still dependent on their parents for decision-making, and the parents are in a co-parenting situation, sometimes it's possible to get a particular treatment without the other parent's consent. That’s because, in practice, there is some variation among medical professionals when it comes to getting consent from both parents. For example, a doctor in an emergency room treating a child in an emergency situation would approach the issue of consent to treatment differently than a specialist in a non-emergency situation.

If you and the other parent don't agree on key medical decisions, the only way to get clarity about medical decision-making is to apply to Family Court.

For example, if there’s a medical treatment that you think your child needs, but your child can’t obtain the treatment because the other parent will not consent to it, you can apply to Family Court for an order that addresses medical decision-making generally or that addresses decision-making for that specific medical issue.

Similarly, if you share medical decision-making responsibility with the other parent and the child is still dependent on you for decision-making support, and the child has received a medical treatment that you do not agree with, you can apply to Family Court as well.

More Information

For more information

To speak with someone about your situation

Last reviewed: April 2024

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