Introduction
Court-ordered visitation is a parenting schedule established in-court and enforced by law. When parents are unable to agree on a visitation schedule, the court can step in to determine an appropriate visitation schedule that is in the best interest of the child.
What Is a Court-Ordered Visitation Schedule?
A court-ordered visitation schedule outlines where the child will be, with whom, and when they will be there. This schedule details when the child will be with each parent, including holidays, vacations, and special occasions. The visitation schedule varies depending on the specific situation.
How Is a Court-Ordered Visitation Schedule Determined?
The court considers several factors when determining a visitation schedule. They assess the child’s needs, the mental and physical health of each parent, the child’s schedule, and the child’s relationship with each parent. A judge then evaluates these factors and creates a visitation schedule that is in the child’s best interest.
Types of Court-Ordered Visitation Schedules
Several types of visitation schedules may be court-ordered, including:
1. Standard: The most common visitation schedule is a standard schedule. This schedule establishes regular visitation times with both parents, such as every other weekend or every other week.
2. Custom: A custom schedule is established according to the needs of the child and their family. This type of schedule can include additional visitation time for one parent or specify visitation schedules based on the child’s activities or school schedule.
3. Supervised: Supervised visitation schedules require that the visitations are supervised by a third party. This type of visitation is typically ordered in cases where the court views one parent as unfit or abusive.
4. No Visitation: In rare cases, the court may order that one parent receives no visitation.
Modifying a Court-Ordered Visitation Schedule
Life changes may sometimes necessitate modifying a court-ordered visitation schedule. Examples of modification reasons include moving to another state or country, job changes, illness, or changes in the child’s needs. Any changes must meet specific criteria, including that the modification is in the child’s best interest.
Enforcing a Court-Ordered Visitation Schedule
When a parent violates a court-ordered visitation schedule, the non-violating parent may request that the court enforce the visitation schedule. There are various ways the court can enforce these schedules, including ordering makeup visitations, fines, or even jail time in extreme cases.
Conclusion
Court-ordered visitation schedules ensure that children have the opportunity to develop and maintain relationships with both parents following a divorce or separation. These schedules are created to facilitate a child’s best interest and can be tailored to meet the family’s unique needs. By setting clear guidelines and ensuring that court-ordered visitation schedules are enforced, parents can help promote a healthy and stable environment for their children.
Parents each have visitation rights when it comes to parenting their children.
When a couple of divorces, unless they have joint custody of their children, there will be one custodial parent and one non-custodial parent.
The non-custodial parent will usually have visitation rights through a visitation order that allows them to see their children. There are many issues that may arise when a couple is following a visitation order.
When a couple cannot work past their differences, the court steps in to help determine what visitation rights are fair. Consult child visitation lawyer to review your case.
While the family courts prefer that parents devise their own visitation order, they recognize that the animosity that parents may have for each other can make that impossible.
If the child’s parents cannot decide on a mutually accepted visitation schedule, then a court-ordered visitation order is created by the family court.
While the court tries to satisfy the non-custodial parent’s visitation rights, a court-ordered visitation order sets up a schedule that parents often disagree with. This often leads to later disputes about the court-ordered visitation order.
Parents that can work on agreeing and making their own visitation schedule, is usually preferable and benefits everyone involved. If a court-ordered visitation order is necessary, there are some common schedules that may be put into effect.
While the non-custodial parent’s visitation rights are not usually terminated, they may find that they do not get to see their child as much as they would, if the two parents could come to an agreement.
There are several typical schedules that a non-custodial parent might be given as their court-ordered visitation order.
One common schedule for a non-custodial parent is a weekly schedule of alternate weekends. Sometimes the court-ordered visitation order will also allow one night a week, depending on the distance between the two parents’ locations.
A holiday schedule is usually created as part of a court-ordered visitation order. Visitation rights do allow for a parent to see their children on holidays, depending on the circumstances. Usually, the holidays are split between the parents.
Holidays may also be switched on a yearly basis, with a child spending one Christmas with their custodial parent and the next year’s Christmas with the non-custodial parent.
Usually the child is allowed to be with their mother on Mother’s Day and their father on Father’s Day. Vacations are other times that a child may spend a few weeks at a time with the non-custodial parent.
Often, a visitation order allows for the non-custodial parent to have the child from two to four weeks, consecutively.
It is sometimes necessary for a court-ordered visitation order to be created if the parents cannot come to an agreement. Although it may not always be preferable, the courts do try to keep both the visitation rights of the non-custodial parent and the child’s best interests in mind.
