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How to enforce a court order that allows you to spend time with a child if the other parent or guardian isn’t allowing you to do this.
‘Parenting time’ is the time a person spends with a child without the other parent or guardian. In court orders, it may be called ‘access’. If you are not a guardian, your time with the child is called ‘contact’.
To enforce your parenting time for in-person visits, phone calls or electronic communication, you must have a court order that describes when your parenting time is to take place.
An example of how parenting time could be divided is that one parent has parenting time with the child every Wednesday from 5 to 9 pm, and then every second weekend from Friday at 6 pm to Monday at 7 am.
Parenting-time orders made in any court in Alberta, including those made under the Divorce Act, are enforced with the processes described in the How to enforce parenting time through the court section below.
If you do not have a court order and the other parent or guardian is not allowing you to visit the child:
Enforcing parenting time can be a complex process. We encourage you to speak with a lawyer.
If you want a lawyer but cannot afford one, you may be able to access legal assistance.
For general information about family law and help with court processes, contact an information coordinator.
The Court and Justice Services group provides a range of services that can help you and the other parent or guardian find a solution to your situation.
Apply to change your current court order:
Provincial Court order: If you have an order from Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie or Red Deer, contact a family court counsellor for help in making a court application.
Court of Queen's Bench order: If you have an order from Calgary or Red Deer, contact a family court counsellor for help in making a court application.
For an order from any other city, follow the steps below.
Forms help: Download our fillable forms to enter your data in them. To get help with filling out a specific form, speak with a court forms information coordinator.
Fill out both of these forms:
Attach a copy of the court order that gives you parenting time.
Swear or affirm your statement at a resolution support centre or court house.
Make 2 copies each of your claim and statement, including all the attachments.
File the forms at the same court, in the same location, where your parenting-time order was granted.
The other parent or guardian must be served with your claim and statement in person. They cannot be served by mail.
You can:
Fill out the Affidavit of Service - Applicant form (PDF, 100 KB)
The person who served the documents must swear or affirm the affidavit before a commissioner for oaths. A court clerk or an information coordinator at a resolution support centre can help with this.
Make one copy of the affidavit and file it at the same court where you filed your claim and statement.
Give a copy of your parenting-time order to the police if the order directs you to do this.
The Family Law Act sets out serious penalties for a person who refuses to follow a court order for parenting time. However, it is up to you to apply to the court to have those penalties applied.
The court can order the:
The court can order the:
If you and the other parent or guardian argue when you exchange a child for a visit, do the exchange:
To help make child exchanges easier, use any of the free services listed in the Out-of-court solutions to problems with parenting time section above.
If your court order allows you to have only supervised visits with a child, these organizations may be able to arrange a visit.
The Children’s Services ministry oversees safe visitation pilot sites in these communities:
You cannot contact Children’s Services to arrange a supervised visit. The ministry only coordinates these visits through its community partners:
The following are some organizations in Alberta you can contact to arrange a supervised visit:
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