My ex husband had his visitation rights suspended almost 2 years ago. He has never tried to go back to court to change it back to the way it was before the suspension. I had called my lawyer one day last year to see if there was anything I needed to do, and asked her if I could go and file for full and complete custody of my kids.(legal and physical) She said if I do, they might give him his visitation back, but if HE takes me back to court, it is hard to say what will happen. My question is this: How long is Court ordered papers like this good for? It has been almost 2 years, and I will admit that he has seen the kids in the last year on more than one occasion. I know I could probably get into trouble for letting him see the kids, but I didn't know if the papers would be "void" or not good after so long. Neither one of us has gone back to court for anything about this in the last 2 years. He won't "fight" for more visitation, he is happy doing it this way.. only seeing them once in a while, or just talking to them on the phone every so often( usually it is my oldest daighter that initiates all of this because she wants to see him and talk to him.)

the most recent court order stands, until it is changed by the court

why were his visits suspended?

Thank you ... There were things going on at my ex'es house while my girls were there, and my kids started putting up a fight everytime they were supposed to visit with him. Now, it was nothing REAL bad, but bad enough that the judge thought it needed to stop. So, the judge gave him an ultimatum(SP?).. either these things stop, or he loses visitis with the kids. My ex made every excuse in the book why the things couldn't stop, and would not agree with the judges "terms", so he lost the visits on the spot, that day in the courtroom. I didn't make the decision for him to lose them, the judge did.

Unless the judge is a man hating ball buster, whatever was going on in that house was pretty serious.

It's pretty rare that all visitation rights be suspended.

The order is still in effect.

There were 3 things going on that I didn't know about until it all blew up at once.. my kids finally told me what happened. 1. They--meaning he and his wife-- were constantly smoking in front of the kids-- my oldest daughter has bad asthma. 2. His wife would make "mixed drinks" and drink them in front of my kids in the middle of the day-- my oldest one told me what the drink was.and 3. His wife decided to come downstairs after a shower with nothing on in front of my kids..... I think they made bad judgements on these things, the judge, well, he didn't like it at all, and that's where the new Court case began.

Also, the judges terms were this: 1. No smoking near the kids, in the house, or in ANY vehicle the kids may be in with them, 2. NO alcoholic beverages of any kind can be consumed while the kids are in his care, and 3. His WIFE is not allowed to be in the presence of my kids while he visits with them. The Judge said either do this or lose your visits with the kids... funny how he chose his wife over his kids.. but I saw it coming.

How old are the children now?

My girls are 14 yrs and 9 yrs now. The only time he talks to them or visits with them is when my oldest calls him and says she wants to spend time with him. Maybe once or twice he showed up without her calling first.

Okay, my gut feeling (and I am NOT an atty) is that you should file to modify the custody order to grant you sole custody. At that time, visitation needs to be addressed. Obviously, your daughters want and need a relationship with their father. You need to have legal parameters set out to allow and foster that relationship, while at the same time protecting your children.

If your ex is content with the way things stand now, you shouldn't have any issues.