Normally, the court will only stop visitation for a certain time or until a certain task is performed. There are other, specific circumstances under which a court will not order visitation. For example, if the parent was found by a court to be guilty of first or second-degree murder of the other parent, then the court may not award visitation.
Court ordered visitation rights may not be denied to the non-custodial parent, even though the non-custodial parent is not paying child support. A parent who has been denied visitation does not have the right to stop paying court ordered child support.
Not following court orders will place you in contempt and will only get you in trouble with the possibility of jail time. Read the case: Stancill v. Stancill, Md. Many parents and children who are separating or divorcing in difficult circumstances need help from a neutral third party in arranging for visitation. Although emotions may be running high between the parents, it is in the child's best interests that they consider that, in most situations, children want to continue relationships with both parents.
In particularly volatile situations, supervised visitation or monitored exchanges should be considered. Supervised visitation is visitation between a parent and child held at a neutral location. Resources for supervised visitation centers vary throughout the state. Monitored exchange occurs at a neutral center where the parents pre-arrange times at which the parents exchange the child. Staggered pick-up and drop-off times are usually arranged so that the parents do not have to be in contact with one another.
The actual exchange is monitored by staff who generally try to ease the process for the child. He currently has supervised visitations with the supervisor being our mother.
Recently he started calling my mother and harassing her. She wants to put a restraining order on him but needs to know how will it go with the supervised visitations and if will she get in trouble. Brette's Answer : She is under no obligation to be the supervisor if she does not want to. A restraining order would mean he could not come into contact with her, which would effectively end the supervised visits.
What if the monitor quit because of his intimidating behavior? Elana's Question : My ex-husband needs to have control over everything. So much that our professional monitor who supervises visits between my ex and children quit because she felt intimidated and threatened after several verbal altercations with my ex.
What happens now? Brette's Answer : It's not your problem. If he can't get along with the monitor, he's got to find another. Of course you want your kids to have contact with him, but if your order is for supervision he has to find a way to get along with the supervisor.
Can a visitation monitor stop visitation at the children's request? Question : If the children involved have expressed disinterest in going for visitation to their monitor for court-ordered supervised visitation, what action should take place? Brette's Answer : It's not up to the monitor to decide if visitation happens. The monitor's sole responsibility is to provide supervision. Children don't get to decide if they go on visitation. They are minors and must do what their parents say older teens are an exception.
Any problem with visitation is up to the parents to resolve. What if the social worker for supervised visitation is biased? Natalya's Question : The father of my 7 year-old daughter played a sexual game with her that involved touching intimate areas.
She also received multiple injuries while with her father. He now has supervised visitations and the social worker is very biased. My daughter says she is scared of him and talks about him playing sexual games, being angry and hitting walls.
The social worker pressures our child, telling her that she misinterpreted everything and that her father never did anything. What can I do? The child psychologist is working for the same organization as the social worker and knows my daughter is losing sleep and has issues at school, yet does nothing. Brette's Answer : It would be really unlikely that a neutral third party social worker supervisor would misrepresent what is happening at supervised visitations.
You could request a different supervisor, or you could request that someone else observe a visit while the supervisor is there to see if she is representing truthfully. If you are unhappy with the psychologist, seek out another one - get a second opinion.
What if the supervisors for visitation don't recognize problems? Misti's Question : My ex-husband has court-ordered supervised visits because of his multiple drug and alcohol problems. His parents were asked to supervise the visits since he is living with them. Most recently my son came home and told me that he witnessed a drug transaction at their home that involved his father. When I confronted his parents on this issue they completely disregarded the drug deal and told my son he was wrong for saying anything.
I don't think my son is safe if they don't recognize there is a problem. Brette's Answer : You need to get another supervisor. Go back to court if necessary. For your husband to commit a crime in front of your son during visitation while supervised is a red flag. What if the supervisor doesn't follow the court order? Stephanie's Question : What can happen if the person appointed to supervise visitations with children does not follow court orders?
For example, the sister is appointed to supervise visits with brother's children when he has them, but she doesn't do so and the order states supervised visits until children are Brette's Answer : If a visit is supervised then the supervisor must always be present. If not, then you need a new supervisor. How hard is it to change the supervisor for the visitations? Brette's Answer : If the person is included in your court order, you need to go to court to modify the order.
If no one is named and you simply must agree, then you can change it together if you agree. Should the monitor be the same gender as the child? Jeannie's Question : There was sexual misconduct by my 7 year old daughter's biological father and he now has supervised visits.
Shouldn't the monitor be a female? Brette's Answer : As long as it is a neutral monitor who is present during the visits, the sex of the person should not matter. Unless you're suggesting your child needs a female in the room to feel safe? If so, that is something you would need a therapist to testify about. What if the visitation report doesn't tell the true story? Sara's Question : My son's father gets supervised visitation and the Supervisor keeps submitting reports saying he behaves appropriately on the visits and she doesn't feel further supervision is necessary.
He is a drug user, is involved with illegal activities, was abusive to me and neglected our son putting him in dangerous situations while we were together.
He hasn't gone to a domestic abuse program, therapy or taken parenting classes? How do I get the Judge not to understand that the reports aren't indicative of our son's safety? Brette's Answer : You could ask for a parenting or mental health evaluation.
Ultimately though, it's up to the judge to make the call. What can I do if he shows up drunk for supervised visitation? Kristy Asks : My ex-husband has supervised visits with my daughter.
The person that supervises is his mother. She does good, but my ex is getting really mean to her and showing up drunk. What can I do to change things? Brette's Answer : You should talk to your attorney. Generally it is up to the supervisor to disallow visitation that day if the parent is drunk. You can seek a modification of the custody order with specific language requiring substance abuse treatment, disqualification of visitation if the parent is not sober and more.
Will he have normal visits after he completes the home evaluation? Stephanie Asks : I have custody of my daughter and her father has supervised visitation with her every other weekend. We are to have a home evaluation done. Will he have normal unsupervised visits after he completes this home evaluation or will it still be supervised visits?
I would appreciate any help and or advice you can give me. Brette Answers : It depends on what your order says or if you are going back to court. If the order says unsupervised visits begin with a home evaluation with acceptable results, then that's the plan. If not, nothing changes until the judge says so. What can I do to slow down the timeline for re-introduction? Dee's Question : My ex is an absent father who tried to forcibly remove our child now 5 years old from my brother's home when he found out that I was deployed.
After the mental drama was over, my daughter was returned to her uncle by direction of the DA. My ex and I are now battling over child custody and I have a pendente lite order that is scary. It states that he has 4 supervised visits and then he gets the child on the first Saturday of each month for 4 months. After that, there are no limitations and he gets her every other weekend using the standard visitation schedule. She is now vividly afraid of her father and has been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression as a result of the removal.
The judge did not hear anything that myself, PhD psychologist that has been counseling the child for 12 months, or my brother who witnessed the removal event had to say. Do I have any options to slowing down this timeline within the order? Brette's Answer : Monitor what happens during supervised visits. Keep the therapist involved and seek modification if things do not improve. Make sure the therapist can document the adverse reactions. What might make sense is to aim for just a slower timeline.
Can I get in trouble if the kids aren't picked up for visitation? Alisha's Question : My ex is supposed to get the kids every other weekend with supervision with the kid's grandfather.
Well the grandfather only takes the kids when he wants them. Can I get in trouble since the parent plan says he is supposed to get them every other weekend and doesn't?
My court papers it says I have primary care but we both have the rights to get the kids medical and educational records. What does this mean? Also, the kid's grandfather has asked for a copy of the kid's social security cards. Does he have any rights to them? Brette's Answer : First of all, you can't force him to exercise his visitation.
If visitation has been ordered to be supervised and there is no supervisor, the visits can't take place. And if the supervisor is the one disturbing the schedule, it is not your fault. It sounds like you have joint legal custody. I can't see why the grandfather would need the SS number and if you aren't court ordered to provide it, you don't need to. Is he trying to claim them as dependents for taxes maybe? Or perhaps he is trying to seek custody in some states you need to include that number on the petition.
Can he pick the kids up if he has supervised visitation? Lacey's Question : My ex was awarded supervised visitation at his mother's house from Friday to Sunday. She is also providing the transportation for them to get there. If he isn't with his mom to pick up my daughter, do I still have to let her leave?
Does a CPS order for supervised visitation apply if the parents work things out? Melissa's Question : My brother in law is supposed to have supervised visits, due to him being arrested on domestic violence. Charges were not pressed, however, CPS made a home visit and requires 30 days of supervised visits with his children. He and his wife have decided that they aren't going to follow these rules, and he is always alone with the children.
Are they at risk of losing the kids? Or since they agree, do the CPS restrictions no longer apply? Brette's Answer : The children could be removed from both of them if they do not follow the order.
It is not optional. How can I protect myself if we informally change the visitation? Jeanna's Question : I divorced about 7 years ago when my kids were 4, 6, and Since he was drinking and on drugs at that time, the divorce papers state he must have supervised visitation.
Now he says he's quit his bad habits and become a new man. If we agree on a different visitation arrangement, is that breaking the law or doing something that could harm me in the future if he goes back to his old ways? Brette's Answer : If you both agree, you are free to work out a schedule you both agree to. Orders granting supervised visitation vary depending on what the court finds appropriate.
They can be very restrictive and state that a parent can only spend time with a child at a specified location in the presence of a specific court appointed supervisor. An order may also be more lenient, and allow the parent to have visitation with the child in his in her home, with an approved person supervising the visitation. Sometimes a court will set forth an order stating that the parent with primary custody of the child has the discretion to choose when and where any supervised visit will occur.
The length of time a supervised visitation order is in effect will also vary depending on what the court determines is necessary for the safety of the child. Supervised visitation may be ordered for a set amount of time or the court may issue an order stating the supervised visitation it to continue indefinitely. If there is no defined end to the supervised visitation, it will likely continue until the court that imposed the order finds that supervision is no longer required.
If the factors that caused the court to issue supervised visitation are no longer present, or the parent subject to supervised visitation can demonstrate they have successfully rehabilitated any concerning behavior, he or she can petition the court for unsupervised visits with his or her child. If the court finds the circumstances no longer warrant that supervised visitation is necessary, it will modify the order and allow the parent unsupervised visitation.
Last reviewed October Child Custody and Support Contents. Grounds for Supervised Visitation If one parent believes the other parent presents a risk of harm to the child, he or she can request supervised visitation. Terms of Supervised Visitation A supervisor from a private or court-affiliated agency may fulfill the supervising role, especially in cases of abuse or domestic violence, in which expertise can be beneficial.
Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. Additional Info. Child Custody and Parental Substance Use. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles.
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