Overview of Child Visitation Rights - General and Basic Legal Info
Determining a child visitation agreement can be difficult depending on the circumstances with the other parent. A family law attorney can help a parent understand the law involving child visitation rights. Child visitation rights are established for the parent that does not have physical custody of their children so they can visit at specified times. There are three types of child visitation, reasonable visitation, supervised visitation, and fixed visitation.
Reasonable Visitation
When a parent is awarded by the court reasonable visitation it means that the parent with visitation rights can visit at a reasonable time and place. This type of child visitation gives a lot of control over the visitation schedule to the parent with physical custody. The reasonable visitation order does not specify dates and times for visitation. Therefore, the parent with physical custody must agree to the schedule.
Supervised Visitation
Supervised visitation is awarded to parents that have a history of abuse either toward the child or their former partner. During supervised visitation there must be another adult present during the visitation period. This adult must be court approved such as a social worker or trusted family member. The court can order supervised visitation for other circumstances such as prior drug abuse, violent behavior, and alcoholism.
Fixed Visitation
A fixed visitation arrangement is often established when the parents are unable to come to any agreements or are particularly hostile toward each other. Fixed visitation is when the court order sets a time and duration for the visitation.
Visitation for Grandparents
Grandparents are not typically awarded visitation. The court typically only issues child visitation rights for non-custodial parents. It is normally up to the parents to allow the grandparents visitation. However, there is a Visitation Rights Enforcement Act of 1998 that grandparents may aid grandparents in visitation arrangements. They should seek the advice of an experienced family law attorney.