09/09/2026
Summer visitation didn't go the way your order said? It's still enforceable.
Every August we hear the same story: the summer schedule was in the order, the other parent didn't follow it, and now the school year has started and nobody knows what to do about it.
A custody order isn't a suggestion. In South Carolina the family court can enforce it through a Rule to Show Cause, and the parent who was shorted can ask for make-up time and attorney's fees. A documented pattern of interference also matters the next time custody is in front of a judge.
Three things to do before you file:
1. Write it down. Every missed exchange, the dates, what it cost you in time and money.
2. Ask in writing first. Quote the order, propose the make-up time, and leave the history out of it. That letter becomes Exhibit A.
3. Don't retaliate. Withholding child support or your own parenting time is its own contempt problem, and it hands the other side a defense.
The full breakdown — how a Rule to Show Cause works, what the court can order, and what to bring — is here:
https://www.kloklaw.com/blog/2026/september/summer-visitation-went-wrong-how-to-enforce-a-vi/
Klok Law Firm handles custody and visitation enforcement in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. (843) 701-1695.
This is general information, not legal advice.