Divorce is painful enough. Between the blood sweat and tears, the last thing a divorced couple wants to worry about is not being able to see their child. Unfortunately, it’s not likely that the divorced couple is going to stay in the same household, which means custody and visitation rights need to be granted. Neither visitation nor custody is black and white subject matters. There are a lot of factors that affect the outcome of both. A parent that is granted child visitation means that they are allowed to visit the child when the visitation schedule allows it. Whereas, a parent that is granted custody of their child means that they are the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to their child. The different types of visitation include the following: 

Supervised visitation

This is granted when the court allows a parent to visit their child, but only if another adult (social worker, family member,etc.) is present. The purpose of this is to ensure the child’s safety. This may be granted if the parent has a history of drugs or violence, mental illness, abandoned the child in some way, etc. The visits are determined in a location of the judge’s choosing and are watched by a monitor or person other than the adult supervisor. If the parent does everything the courts ask them to, they can potentially acquire supervised visitation at a future date. 

Unsupervised visitation

This is granted when the court allows a parent to visit their child without anyone else present. In order to receive this court order, the judge has to see the person as fit to take care of their child. A lawyer can help a person prove that they’re a fit parent to the courts.

Therapeutic supervised visitation

This is granted when the court allows a person to visit their child, but only if a therapist is present. The purpose of this order is to help improve the relationship between the person it was granted to and their child. Instead of a monitor, the therapist keeps track of the person’s progress with the child.

How is it decided the amount of time you are able to spend with your child?

Deciding which parent should be able to be in their child’s life and for how long is a very complicated process. If it were up to the parents, most people would probably choose to spend every second they can with their child. For this reason, it’s left up to the courts to decide the best interests of the child. Some factors that determine custody and visitation rights are the following:

• Emotional Intelligence – Being a good parent is about more than just feeding, clothing, and picking up your child from school. It takes emotional intelligence. A good parent has to know how to love and communicate with their child. This includes their child’s likes and dislikes, their child’s strengths and weaknesses, showing affection toward the child, etc.
  
  
• Stability – Kids are very expensive. Younger children need diapers, formula, toys, etc. As they age they need someone to pay for their education, clothes, and entertainment. Therefore, a parent needs to have the financial stability to be able to properly support and provide for their child. A good parent also needs to be able to provide a good home for the child to grow up in, since the child doesn’t have the ability to do that on their own.
  
  
• Safety – If there is a question about the parent’s mental health, history of substance abuse, violence, etc. The courts are not going to put the child in harm’s way and will perform background checks when making the court order.
  
  

Contact Flowers Law Today

Overall, visitation is more than just showing up and spending time with the child. There are many different types (supervised, unsupervised, and therapeutically supervised) of visitation each with their own unique circumstances. The type of visitation granted will be up to the judge and will be based on safety, stability, and emotional intelligence. If you are a parent that is in the middle of a custody/visitation battle, get in touch with the attorneys at Flowers Law to receive the expert knowledge that you need to settle your dispute.