Your right to see your children cannot be arbitrarily abrogated, abridged, or in any infringed by your former spouse. New York State law makes it quite clear that even if your ex has custody of the children you have the right to visit them regularly. A visitation schedule is one of the things that are ironed out during the divorce and child custody proceedings. It may be the case, however, that yours was not the most amicable split. There may be lingering anger and resentment that might just lead your ex to use your children to punish you. If you get the slightest hint that this is happening, that you are being denied the right to see your kids because of malice, then you should contact a child visitation lawyer straightaway and get the matter resolved. You are the best judge of what is actually going on. If you truly believe that the recent incidents of missed visits come down to genuine miscommunication and error, then there is no reason to get the law involved. However, if you strongly suspect that your ex-spouse is intentionally keeping your kids from you, then you must take action. A judge is the only authority allowed to withhold visitation rights. And they will only do so if there it can be proven that you are an unfit parent. Evidence of abuse, neglect, drug and alcohol abuse, or mental instability constitute the criteria for such a claim. Your former spouse may say that you have been observed in wrong doing or that you have been violent or otherwise harmful toward your kids. You should not rule out the possibility that the person you loved and who once loved you might actually tell the authorities that you have done violence against your own kids. Divorce does strange things to people, and emotions are especially heightened when children are involved. You must take immediate and vigorous action to refute these kinds of claims. They cannot be allowed to go unchallenged and unchecked. Your ex may only have anecdotal evidence or facts they have presented out of context. If they are the only ones saying anything, the judge may err on the side of caution and deny you visitation rights until such time as an investigation into your life can be completed. It is best to go to court immediately and discredit the accusations that have been made against you. The only effective way to do that is by employing the skill, insight, and knowledge of a child visitation lawyer. They will have the experience and expertise to disprove the claims that are made against you, and they will help you do what is necessary to keep your visitation rights inviolate. You must also watch out for any attempt to move your children to another part of the country or to some place where it will be harder to see them. The law is clear on this matter as well. Your children cannot be moved anywhere without your consent. It is illegal for the parent who has custody to relocate to a place that makes it overly difficult for the non-custodial parent to regularly visit them. If your ex is trying to take your kids someplace else without your consent, your response should be to contact a lawyer and make a motion to have them stopped. It is in your children’s best interest that you remain in their lives. You cannot allow your ex to do anything that jeopardizes that.