Modifying based on work schedule

Trying to help a friend.  His ex just modified his visitation schedule 50 days ago in court.  They lived 135 miles apart and transportation schedule used to be dad drives up on Friday to get the kids and mom picks kids up on Sunday.   Well she wanted to meet in the middle and the judge agreed and came up with a place in the middle to do exchanges.  Two days ago mom tells him she is taking him back to court to get it changed back because she changed her work schedule voluntarily and now has to work Friday nights so she wants dad to pick up kids from school.  Here's the problem, approx. 30 days ago after visitation schedule changed his schedule changed and he has to work til 5:45 pm, so there is no way he could pick his kids up at after school on Friday night.  If he left at 5:45Pm he wouldnt be there til 8:15PM.  Currently they meet in middle at 7:00 PM. Both parents work Saturday mornings.  Now he doesnt want to loose visits, mom works Fridays from 11:30am to 10pm(10 hour shift and lunch break), Mom's schedule is now Wed thru Saturday.  Can the courts deny her request to modify because she volunteered for this new schedule?  She can always go back to other one but she doesnt want too.  My friend gets the kids every other weekend but he works in a job where they won't let him leave early to pick up his kids. Can the judge grant the modification and just tell my friend its his responsibility to pick up his kids and if he cant make it then that's his choice? So it is in my opinion this modification could and will cause non custodial parent to loose visits because of his work schedule.  So will the courts consider the custodial parents schedule more important than non custodial? Thnx for any info

One other question I told him I'd ask, my friend is school teacher.  He has entire summer off but only gets his kids every other weekend and two weeks of summer vacation.  Since his ex works 10 1/2 hours a day and the kids are dropped off at daycare or babysitter 1/2 before and 1/2 less what would his chance be if he asks for the kids on the days his ex works and she can have the kids on her days off?  Also on above post his ex is only required to work one late night a week which is Friday, and the other three days would be Wed, Thurs, and Sat from 7:30 to 6pm.  

Stay out of his wars.

The order is as the order is -until and unless it gets changed

You may think her change was voluntary but when it comes time for court I'll bet its a totally different tune which is hard for Dad to prove wrong.

I'm not positive if my right to pick up a child begins say at 6 PM that that means I must be there at 6--I have no doubt I cannot require exercise of rights early --but to exercise say 80% of my time might not be ruled out?

Odds are the court is supposed to first consider what is best for child--and to make child into human pingpong ball might not be in childs best interest.

Drew, he understands the order stays until it changes and if it does change.  But the problem is he can not pick children up early do to his work schedule.  Saturday morning isnt an option because both parents work.  Would the court allow them to come to agreement that he picks child up at 8:30 pm, but then he wouldnt be back til 11pm. Also just 50 days before her and her attorney argued the fact that transportation should be changed to meet in the middle because they didnt think it was right that the parents had to travel 5 hours round trip.  The judge agreed.  Now the mom decides to go to a 10 hour schedule so she can have 3 days off.  My friend even has email that says this. So the court should think what is best for child and not whats best for mom. 

I see the point--but unless your friend likes spending time in court and using well paid lawyer time--he might be better off to barter for mutually better schedule and just do it for now..

I agree with Drew...stay out of it.  We have read way too many cases where another person not involved in the custody case fuels the fire. 

We have no way to know what a judge will do.  I agree with Drew, they are both better off trying to work something out and staying out of the court room.  He has to prove she willingly changed her hours.  That email may never even be able to be presented.   A judge could certainly change it, a judge could say he can pick them up at their home Friday night, a judge could deny it, who knows.

With the summer, he has to show a change that has occured since that order was put into place and how that change is the best for the kids.  If she was working those hours when he was given two weeks, there is no reason for the visitation schedule to change.  That would be alot of back and forth for those kids, how is that best for them?

Let him deal with his ex. Quite bluntly, you do not get an opinion about their children and custody.

So what would his option be if judge changed transportation.  He cant pick the kids up at the time she wants because he changed his schedule since the last transportation change made by the court also.  Mom has the option to go back to eight hour shifts but she'd rather work 10 hours shift.  What is best for the kids if time spent with both parents am I correct?  Isn't relationships with the kids and both paarents more important than mom's 10 hour shifts.  Dad is going to loose visits because he cant pick them up after school.  I dont thing the judge will allow him to pick the kids up at 8:30 pm and get back at 11:00pm will fly either but who knows.  Also Saturday morning isnt an option for either parent because they both work.  I told him i dont think judge will change it since it was just modified 50 days or so before at mom's request.  Judge even stated in court that he didn't think the parents should have to drive 2 1/2 hours one way and 2 1/2 hours back so he said it was best they do it in the middle.

splum1 your response is a copout.  When 2 parents agree to 50/50 the judges dont usually deny it and say that bouncing around back and forth is not in best interest.  They agree all the time when parents want to split visitation.    Best interest is spending time with both parents.  During her 4 days these kids will be in daycare during summer for 12 hours because of drop off time and pick up time.  Kids are better off with dad during them times.

and again, this is THEIR children and their issue, you should stay out of it. Your opinon quite honestly, doesn't matter.

If the parents agree, there is no reason for it to be modified, is there?  They can set up whatever they want, submit it to the courts to be modified and say they are both in agreement. Judges love when people can be adult and make their own decisions, but  I didn't get from your post the parents were in agreement about anything.

splum1, here is the problem.  A couple months ago his ex wife wanted transportation modified.  She thought it was best they met in the middle so parents didnt have 2 drive 2 1/2 hours there and 2 1/2 hours back.  Judge agreed and he agreed so it was modified.  Just recently his ex requested a job change where she has to work 4 days which are 10 1/2 instead working  5 8 hour days.  Her job requires her now to work Friday nights so she cant meet in middle.  She wants him two pick kids up after school.  Now here's his problem, he cant because he switched his schedule so he has to work every Friday and cant pick the kids up after school.  He worked it out with the employee that he'd be available on Fridays to a certain time(he was giving full time).  He did this with the intentions knowing he could still pick kids up in the middle.  Neither parent can do Saturdays because of schedules.  So he is going into court requesting it be the same and she is requesting judge to make him pick up kids after school.  Tough situation, now he could pick the kids up later on like 8:30 or 9pm but wouldnt be back with kids until 1100pm to 1130pm.  She doesnt want the kids picked up that late says kids should be out that late.  She says pick up after school or loose the visits but because of his job he cant' and because of her new job schedule she cant meet them in the middle. She does have the option of going back to her old schedule and if he did then he'd loose full time job and be part time. So that is basically what is going on.

So let the judge have the headache of solving this complicated visitation issue.  Reiteration doesn't make it any clearer.

Ouch, what a mess. I don't know what the judge will say but I would certainly go and fight it if I was the dad. I'm sure the dad is asking you to post these questions for help. I would think that the judge would allow the dad to spend more time with them in the summer. He is off work and she is not. Heck I would think the mom would want that too. What has she said about more time during summers?

ShirlM:

. I'm sure the dad is asking you to post these questions for help.

Really, it is far more helpful when the principles themselves ask their own questions.  More often than not, the OP doesn't know alot of what is going on, having heard one side of the story....especially with family and criminal issues.

Rather than continually agonize over their hours for them, just let the judge decide.  It's more complicated due to odd hours, but many parents have odd hours.  It's not rocket science.  The court will figure it out fairly. 

Could this be a solution?  Because of his work at times he could switch but no gurantee, he said he'd be willing to agree if he could have visits two weekends a month but it would help him tremendously if he could choose those two weekends and he said he'd be willing to notify her 15 days in advance of the prior month.  This would give him more oppurtunity to switch shifts but he also said he'd might miss a couple but it be far less than if he was told first and third weekends.  He was just trying to figure out what would work best for both parents schedule but his ex said she didn't like the ideal of giving him choice of two weekends a month and wants it to be first and third.   I told him I think it is fair and he could suggest it to judge and judge could agree or deny it.

southeast:

His ex just modified his visitation schedule 50 days ago in court.  They lived 135 miles apart and transportation schedule used to be dad drives up on Friday to get the kids and mom picks kids up on Sunday.   Well she wanted to meet in the middle and the judge agreed and came up with a place in the middle to do exchanges.  Two days ago mom tells him she is taking him back to court to get it changed back because she changed her work schedule voluntarily and now has to work Friday nights so she wants dad to pick up kids from school. 

A lot depends on the rules used in the state that has jurisdiction over the custody and visitation issues, and you didn't say in what state that is. If this were in one of the states where I practice, she'd face a ticked off judge. No judge wants to see this case back again after just 50 days — she's essentially wasted the time they spent on the previous modification case. Unless she could convince the judge she had no control over the change (which seems unlikely here), the judge would likely just dismiss the request as being too soon and let her figure out how to meet the court order that is already in place.