California offers noncustodial parents rights to visitation, assuming the courts find them suitable. The main priority of the judge who allows visitation is to keep children safe. They will award custody based on what they believe is best for the child. Note that just because you pay child support does not automatically grant you rights of visitation.
Keep reading to learn about the four types of visitation allowed in California. If you have question about them, or you want to request visitation for yourself of prevent your co-parent from being granted visitation, contact Law Offices of Torrence L. Howell at (909) 920-0908 for your legal consultation.
- Reasonable Visitation
- Scheduled Visitation
- Supervised Visitation
- No Visitation
In most cases, reasonable visitation is open-ended and allows both parents to work together to come up with the best visitation plan. This is the option that may be chosen if the relationship between the parents is relatively amicable and the courts trust that both parents can follow through on what’s best for their child.
This is generally the ideal option, but even parents who communicate well and are willing to be flexible can end up disagreeing and causing complications in the schedule.
This involves a detailed visitation plan with specific descriptions of when either parent has visitation / custody with the child. The schedule should include an outline of dates and times of visitations. It should include both a typical week as well as special rules for holidays, vacations, and other special occasions. This is a good option for parents who want to avoid constant disagreements about who should have the kids as it will all be spelled out very specifically.
If the judge has reason to believe that the parent who does not have custody poses a threat to the well-being and / or safety of the children, then they may order that the noncustodial parent can only see their child when supervised. They can rule that the other parent is allowed to supervise, or they may require that a third-party supervise, such as a professional agency. In some cases, a judge may order supervised visitation not because they believe the child is in danger but in order to give the child and parent a chance to get familiar with one another.
If the court believes that there is a significant risk of physical or emotional damage if the child visits with the parent, even if supervised, then the judge may order that there is no visitation allowed. This means that the parent will have no contact at all with the child, in person or otherwise.
No matter which side of the battle you are on, you deserve an attorney who will be on your side. You have found that in Law Offices of Torrence L. Howell. Contact us at (909) 920-0908 now and request a free legal consultation.
