Minnesota Parenting Time Enforcement: What to Do About Interference

Your court order says you get every other weekend and Wednesday evenings. But the other parent cancels at the last minute, schedules activities during your time, or simply doesn't answer the door. This is parenting time interference — and Minnesota law gives you specific tools to stop it.

What Counts as Parenting Time Interference

Under Minnesota Statutes § 518.175, both parents have a right to the parenting time set out in their court order. Interference includes denying scheduled visits, consistently arriving late for exchanges, scheduling the child's activities during the other parent's time without consent, or badmouthing the other parent to discourage the child from going.

The law treats these violations seriously. Persistent and willful denial of parenting time is one of the few grounds that lets a court modify custody outside the normal waiting periods under § 518.18.

Filing a Motion to Enforce

If informal communication hasn't resolved the problem, your first legal step is filing a motion to enforce parenting time with the court that issued the original order. You'll need to:

• Document each denied or interfered-with parenting period (dates, times, what happened)
• File the motion with the District Court Administrator in the county where the order was issued
• Serve the other parent with notice of the hearing

The court can then order compensatory parenting time — make-up time equal to what you lost. Under § 518.175, Subdivision 6, if the court finds the other parent unreasonably denied or interfered with your parenting time, the court must order compensatory time and may order the interfering parent to pay your attorney fees and court costs.

The Parenting Time Expeditor

Minnesota offers a unique dispute resolution tool called a parenting time expeditor. Under § 518.1751, the court can appoint an expeditor — a neutral third party — to resolve day-to-day scheduling disputes without going back to court every time.

The expeditor can:

• Interpret ambiguous language in your parenting plan (what does "reasonable parenting time" actually mean on spring break?)
• Resolve schedule conflicts that don't require a full modification hearing
• Issue decisions that become enforceable court orders if neither parent objects within 14 days

This is faster and cheaper than filing repeated motions. If your plan doesn't already include an expeditor provision, you can ask the court to appoint one.

When Courts Order Supervised Parenting Time

In some cases, parenting time must be supervised — meaning a court-approved third party is present during visits. Courts typically order supervision when there are concerns about substance abuse, domestic violence, or a parent's inability to provide safe care.

Under § 518.175, Subdivision 1a, supervised parenting time can be ordered at a professional visitation center or with an approved individual. The supervising party provides written reports to the court, and the arrangement is reviewed periodically. Supervision is designed to be temporary — a stepping stone toward unsupervised time once the safety concern is addressed.

Contempt of Court for Repeated Violations

When a parent repeatedly ignores court orders despite enforcement motions, the court can hold them in contempt. Civil contempt under Minnesota law can result in fines, mandatory compliance conditions, and in extreme cases, jail time until the parent agrees to comply.

Courts also have the authority to modify custody altogether if the interference is persistent and willful. This is a significant consequence — the interfering parent risks losing primary physical custody.

Protecting Yourself Through Documentation

The strongest enforcement cases are built on documentation:

• Keep a parenting time log with dates, pickup/dropoff times, and notes about what happened
• Save text messages and emails where the other parent cancels or refuses exchanges
• Note any witnesses present during denied exchanges
• Use a co-parenting communication app if the other parent disputes your account

The Minnesota Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide includes worksheets for tracking parenting time and organizing evidence before you file an enforcement motion or attend a hearing.

See more Minnesota guides →