Nothing is more important than the relationship between a parent and his or her child. While nearly all parents would like to have full custody of their children, this isn’t always possible, especially when a divorce is involved. Other factors might also come into play, making even joint custody unavailable and leaving some parents with visitation as their only option.
If this is your situation, it’s important to understand the differences between the various types of visitation that are available in California. By understanding your options, you can determine if you might have a better option available than your current situation, or simply know what to push for if you have an upcoming divorce or custody dispute.
Scheduled Visitation
Scheduled child visitation orders are perhaps the most common form. With this type of visitation order, the parents, their family law attorneys, and the courts work out a visitation schedule that must be adhered to throughout the calendar year. This also usually includes planning for special occasions and holidays.
There are a number of benefits with this type of plan. In particular, it eliminates miscommunication and potential conflicts because everything is planned out well in advance. This is particularly beneficial if you no longer get along with the other parent and want to minimize arguments and other difficulties.
Reasonable Visitation
This type of visitation order is much more open-ended and really doesn’t have much that’s set in stone. The parents are essentially expected to schedule visitation as they go along and to work things out amongst themselves.
Obviously, reasonable visitation should only be considered if the parents either still get along or are able to set their differences aside and communicate effectively. If things become rocky, it can be better for all involved (especially the kids) if scheduled visitation is employed instead.
Supervised Visitation
Supervised visitation is usually employed in one of two scenarios. In its most common form, it’s used because the court feels that the visiting parent cannot be fully trusted with the child’s safety. This is often due to a criminal conviction involving a violent crime or a sex offense, but it could be due to a number of other factors, as well.
The second scenario is more benign. In this situation, the visiting parent may have been estranged from the child for some reason, and the two need a period of supervised visitation to become comfortable with each other. This can eventually lead to reasonable or scheduled visitation.
Connect with a Rancho Cucamonga Visitation Rights Lawyer
When custody isn’t an option, a child visitation order can be beneficial to everyone involved. You want to make certain that the visitation order you receive is the best one possible, however, which is where the Law Office of Laurence J. Brock comes in.
We have extensive experience helping parents negotiate child visitation, whether that negotiation involves the other parent, another attorney, or the courts. We can help you get the schedule that would be best for both you and the kids. It starts with a free consultation, so give us a call at 909-466-7661 or simply complete the contact form below.
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