Must Ex Send Child to Me at Another Airport Than One Specified in Order?

My son’s mother lives in Sacramento, California, and I am in Washington. Our custody arrangements were made in Oregon, but I think California law may apply here. We have joint custody, specified in the custody order.

My son is due to come up to Washington for a summer visit, and my ex and I are in disagreement over the flight he will take. I want to book him on a flight into Spokane, and she insists it must be to Seattle, about twice as far away. The custody order specifies direct flights to Seattle, but we made a verbal agreement (wiith lawyers present) that Spokane would be acceptable for direct flights. The flight I want stops for 35 minutes in Boise, but my son would not have to change planes or even disembark from the one he’s on. The flight also cuts the drive time home from three hours to an hour and a half, which is not insignificant.

My ex refuses to allow him to take the Spokane flight, claiming that it’s not “direct” (the airline assured me that it does constitute a direct flight.) She told me (in writing, by e-mail) that she would not put him on that plane. Period.

My question is this: If she refuses to allow my son to fly up, do I have recourse under California Penal Code 278.5? Will the DA or the police assist me, or must I go back on a civil basis to the judge in Oregon? The latter would probably take long enough that I would have lost my summer time with my son by the time the case was heard.

I’m sorry this was so long. I’d be grateful for your response.

Frustrated Father

Dear Frustrated,

Not only would you not have criminal recourse under the California criminal law (if the order says “Seattle”, she does not violate it by not putting your child on a flight to Spokane, particularly as she has communicated her willingness to comply with the actual order), but think for a minute how terrible it would be for your child to see one of his parents arrested, and possibly jailed.

Work it out with your ex. Find out what her actual objection or concern is. While it may seem invalid to you, it may be very real to your ex. Find out whether, for example, if you could find a flight with no layover, into Spokane, would she agree to that flight? Or perhaps she is worried that if she doesn’t herself stick to the letter of the order, that then if you do something really outside the order, she herself will have no recourse having herself already ‘violated’ the order.

It’s always best to work these sorts of things out, whenever possible.

Anne