Coparent issues, passports and vacations

Location: California

Ex wife and I have been divorced for 5 years and share two children (11 and 8), 50/50 joint legal and physical custody. Ex wife is stonewalling me on two issues that are very important to me.

The first issue is passports for the kids. I’ve been asking her for 3 years to consent to passports and she won’t budge (claiming the world is a dangerous place and she doesn’t trust me to keep them safe during international travel).

Second issue is vacation time. We each get two weeks (non-consecutive) with the kids each year for vacation. I tell her at the beginning of the year the dates I want for vacation with the kids, which allows her to schedule her own vacation time while I’m with the kids. The issue is that she never takes vacation time with the kids. So I never get time on my own for a vacation without the kids. She claims she “can’t afford” vacation with the kids, yet she takes advantage of her vacation time without them.

It’s clear to me she’s stonewalling me on these issues out of spite (she’s bitter about the divorce). What are my chances of a judge ruling in my favor on both of these issues? I’ve put up with this for 5 years and I’m so done, it’s negatively impacting my life/relationships and causing me emotional distress.

Posted Mar 8, 2026, 6:04 PM UTC

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