Parents who are not awarded physical custody of their children may still receive visitation rights. A visitation agreement puts non-custodial parenting time arrangements in writing. Family courts are sometimes involved in determining visitation arrangements and even if not, it is advisable for the non-custodial parent to retain a child visitation lawyer. An attorney will also come in handy if the custodial parent violates the terms outlined in the agreement – get a free consultation with an expert today!
Expert Visitation Agreement Help!
Visitation is considered a privilege not an automatic right. Parents may work together or use mediation to develop a parenting plan or a court may decide the child visitation schedule. If the family situation is marked by turmoil or domestic violence is involved, a family court may intercede to determine visitation. Once a court approves the arrangement, both parents are legally bound to the provisions.
When it comes to family law, the legal system separates child support and visitation issues. If a non-custodial parent does not pay child support, rights to visitation may not be denied. If the custodial parent violates the visitation agreement by denying visitation, it is not cause to cease child support payments. The law protects both custodial parents who are owed child support and non-custodial parents whose visitation rights have been violated.
Enforcement of visitation is typically carried out at the state level but some federal programs facilitate state-level enforcement. Many states have enforcement programs that assist non-custodial parents with receiving rights to visitation. If a situation cannot be easily corrected, a visitation attorney can help the non-custodial parent file a legal petition to restore rights to visitation The process varies by state so non-custodial parents should consult with a legal professional in their state of residence.
Rights to visitation may change due to a parent changing jobs, the custodial parent relocating, or more serious issues including violation of a court order or one parent posing danger to the child. The parent who wishes to change the agreement must submit a petition for court approval. The attorney will fight for the rights of the parent, keeping the best interests of the child in mind.
Child visitation provides each parent the opportunity to spend time and bond with the child when the adults are no longer together. Both parents are expected to comply with the agreement regarding visitation. If one parent does not live up to the responsibilities outlined, a visitation attorney can help the other parent enforce the agreement. Speaking with an expert attorney for a free consultation is your first step to getting your life back!
All right. Here is my some what story.
I met my husband in 2009- after being together for a week or so he told me he had 2 daughters- each with different mothers. His oldest was 6; youngest 2. He had his oldest every other weekend, he’d go and pick her up Saturday mornings and then he’d go to drop her back off at her house… (Her mom originally lived a few miles away from him, and they agreed that he’d pick her up and then drop her off; the mother recently moved about 2 hours away- and she refused to meet half way, and the times she did agree to meet- she’d drive about 20 minutes (hey, better then nothing))… The youngest daughter would call just about every other night, or he’d try to call her, (when she was born, he didn’t ask for visitation rights- he’d tried with his oldest and it was a struggle to get what he got, so he lost hope with the youngest, but him and her mother had tried working it out so he had been in contact with the daughter and stayed in touch with her.. Also throughout both of these girls’ life my mother in law stayed very close with these girls- taking them on weekend and during the week if possible, anything she could do to stay in touch he did)…
This all went on for the first 6 months we were together… In May 2010 I asked my husband to invite the youngest with us to my nieces birthday party- her mother dropped her off, we kept her for the day, everything went really really well. I then discussed with my husband that we should start trying to take her every other weekend… We talked to her mother, dicussed that I’d meet her on Friday afternoons and pick her up, then her mother would come and pick her up Monday morning when she was done with work (she worked nights, as did I)… We continued this for almost a full year- some times we would keep her a little longer and I’d bring her to school or pick her up from school.. Either way, it was all going really well. We got her her own bed, her own clothes for here, all of her own things for here so this felt like home to get. Randomly one day, I had just gotten up in the afternoon to go pick up my step daughter (I also worked 3rd shift) and checked my phone .. There was a message saying my step daughter wouldn’t be coming over this weekend. Strange- we always had her every other weekend unless planned different in advance. I text back and asked why not? I then got a call from my sister in law to check out facebook- my husbands ex was looking for a babysitter every other weekend. I right away text the ex and asked what was up, she made all sorts of excuses that my step daughter wasn’t comfortable here, she didn’t like forcing her to come here, she can’t handle seeing her miserable every other weekend when she had to come here.. . (I had never once seen her have an issue coming here) I asked her why she didn’t tell us this before, tried reasoning and asking questions.. That was it. No more responding, no answering phone calls.. That was that. That continues until present.. Step daughter does get to my mother in laws however though, so we make sure we go there to visit her when she goes.. And she always says how much she misses us and wishes she could come backbut her mom won’t let her…
Back to the oldest daughter- – Her coming every other weekend slowly ended. Her mom would make other plans for her. Wouldn’t return phone calls.. Take a week to return a text.. In 2011 we finally got her for a holiday after much begging (the holiday was New Years Eve) and then we got a speech from her mother that we need to build her her own room if she is going to come to our home… ( We live in a 2 bedroom house.. In Oct of 2010 we had our first child) Needless to say, we dicussed adding on but said we wanted to be sure it was a real thing that she would be there every other weekend.. Once again phone calls were ignored and not returned..
We try to stay in touch with these girls- we kind of go through my mother in law- she bends over backwards for my husbands ex’s to make sure she is in good… She gets them once or twice a month, we are sure to go and visit..
He pays $200 a month for each of these girls- we now have 2 children of our own.. If we went to court, do we have a leg to stand to try to get these girls every other weekend? Or possibly even more? Will childsupport increase? (Since his court cases, he has gotten a better job)… Just trying to gather some information so my children can know their step sisters, and so my husband can have his girls back…
It’s now 2014
He has rights to spend time with his daughter provided the proper procedure has taken place. First, he needs to establish that he is the father in court. This is done by the filing of a complaint to establish a father and child relationship, otherwise known as a complaint for parentage. If the mother claims he is not dad, a DNA test will be ordered and if it comes back with him being the father, the court will order him to have some set schedule for parenting time. Keep in ind,that if there are any bad allegations, a judge may order a guardian ad litem or a child representative to become involved in his child visitation matter, and this can prolong the case quite a bit. Hiring an experienced family law attorney is the best way to make sure you allege the proper things in your complaint and any follow up petitions you may need to file. You can speak with our team today, give us a call! Good luck!