To enforce a custody or visitation order in New York, you file a violation petition in the Family Court that issued the order, describing how the other parent broke it. If the court finds a willful violation, it can hold the parent in contempt and impose remedies — make-up parenting time, a stricter schedule, fines, or in serious cases jail — and a repeated or willful violation can also be grounds to modify custody.
A custody order is a court order, and New York gives you a way to enforce it when the other parent ignores it — whether they are withholding the child during your scheduled time, refusing exchanges, or otherwise not following the terms. The tool is a violation (enforcement) petition filed in the Family Court that issued the order.
The petition should describe the specific violations: the dates, what was supposed to happen under the order, and what the other parent did instead. Keep records — a log of missed exchanges, messages, and witnesses all help show the court a pattern rather than a one-time misunderstanding.
If the court finds the violation was willful, it has real remedies. It can order make-up parenting time, modify the schedule to prevent further problems, impose fines, and in serious or repeated cases hold the violating parent in contempt, which can carry jail time. A persistent, willful pattern of violating the order can also support a petition to modify custody itself.
Because enforcement turns on proving a willful violation, parents often consult a New York custody attorney to document the pattern and present it effectively.
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What happens if the other parent violates a custody order in New York?
You can file a violation petition. If the court finds a willful violation, it can order make-up time, change the schedule, impose fines, hold the parent in contempt, and in serious cases the violation can support modifying custody.
Can withholding visitation change custody in New York?
A repeated, willful pattern of denying the other parent court-ordered time can be grounds to seek a modification of custody, because it bears on the best interests of the child.
Where do I file to enforce a custody order?
Generally in the Family Court that issued the original order, by filing a violation petition.