A divorce proceeding is a confusing process which becomes even more frustrating for a woman concerned about her child visitation rights. Questions like, "How is child visitation determined?" or "Will I get to see my children as often as I want?" can keep you up at night. By hiring a Virginia child custody lawyer you can rest easy knowing your case is in the hands of a caring professional.
How is Child Visitation Determined?
Firstly, the definition of visitation is where and when a parent without physical custody may see their child. In general, child visitation will take place in the home of the non-custodial parent or somewhere else of their choosing. If decided by the judge, these visits may be supervised or occur in a therapeutic setting. The best interest of the child is the main priority for any court decision.
In order to count as a visitation, an overnight stay has to occur. So, if your ex comes to watch your child play in their baseball game and then goes home to his house, that activity does not count as a visit (out of the allotted days per year as dictated by the judge).
Child visitation proceedings commonly follow this general format:
Your child visitation privileges are contingent upon how you deal with the other parent's visitation. If you interact badly, by doing things like blocking visitations, dropping your child off late or trying to pick them up early, this will reflect badly on you. The judge wants both parents to adhere to the schedule decided by the courts.
Friendly parents get more child visitations. Begrudgingly leaving your child at their father's house and exiting with harsh words may be recorded by your ex and can negatively impact your allotted time with your child if mentioned in court. As frustrating as it can be, you must at least present an illusion of civility with your ex.
In her book, The Women's Custody Survival Handbook, Virginia child custody attorney Kristen D. Hofheimer, Esquire writes, "Many judges will say that they consider the friendly parent factors to be the most important in making custody/visitation decisions."
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information on seminars-www.monthlydivorceseminars.com
info on collaborative divorce-www.virginiacollaborativelaw.com
information-estate planning for young families-www.generationslawfirm.com
information-family law and estate planning for the LGBT community-www.FamilyEqualityLawCenter.com
Charles R. Hofheimer View lawyer's profile |
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