Fathers Custody Rights – How To Enforce Your Visitation Rights
If you and your partner are getting a divorce or just separating and you have kids, the most important task ahead of you is to decide on issues such as custody and visitation. Divorce splits the bonds between husband and wife, custody splits the ties of parenting. It is imperative for both parents to understand that a child has a right to an ongoing relationship with each parent.
Despite the fact that the tendency is being reversed, it is true that the typical judicial attitude towards custody most often favors women. For whatever reason, it has been the precedence set in the past and traditionally many judges find it difficult to change their ways. Nevertheless, modern attitudes are changing and fathers are starting to have a more significant parenting role. When a father has been given visitation rights it is imperativethat these rights are not interfered with.
The best case scenario is where the parents co-operate with each other to give the children lots of time with each parent. However, as is often the case, this ends in the parent who doesn’t have custody, which is often the father, getting very little visitation time with his children, and frequent angry disputes over cancelled visits and last minute delays. To offset such problems, many judges now prefer the parties to devise a fairly detailed custody schedule (known as a parenting agreement or parenting plan) which sets out the visitation schedule and outlines who has responsibility for decisions affecting the children.
If you have agreed on a parenting plan which has been ratified by the court in the final custody decision then your visitation rights are protected by law and can be enforced by the court. Although it is reasonable that there may be various times that visitation time might need to be adapted, for example when someone gets sick, or certain appointments need to be made, or other special circumstances consistent interference with visitation can even be cited as an argument that there is a change in circumstances which can lead to a modification of the custody schedule. In some states it can even be grounds for giving custody to the parent who has had their visitation rights interfered with.
Visitation schedules are often established as a test period. each parent has little idea of what changes their relationship with the child might go through as the child grows. In some cases parents modify the parenting plan without going to court as the needs of the child change over time. If one parent, however, later reneges on the agreement, the other person may not be able to enforce it unless the court has approved the modification. Therefore it is most advisable to get any modifications approved by the court.
If you are the non custodial parent make sure your parenting plan is very precise and detailed in when, where, and how you are allowed to spend time with your children. In most states, it is a crime to interfere with custody or visitation rights. This crime is commonly referred to as “custodial interference.” Depending on the state, parents can actually sue the other person for damages if their custody rights are interfered with, as well as get help from law enforcement.
Often, a father stops paying child support in retaliation for the mother interfering with his visitation rights. It is a mistake to confuse child support with custody and visitation. No matter what the circumstances, you must always pay child support. You may face heavy penalties for failing to meet your obligations. Every parent has an duty to support his or her children.
A major study identified a revealing connection between custody and visitation arrangements, levels of strife and the payment of court-ordered child support. Fathers tended to continue paying child support in situations when they had frequent daytime visits and overnight stays with their children. The less involved with their children’s lives they became, the less likely they were to keep paying child support.
Are you the victim of a spiteful ex who is interfering with your visitation rights? If you are constantly being denied the right to have contact with you children, then visit Child Custody Information and discover how to choose the right child custody lawyer to make sure your ex does what the courts say.
Tags: child custody, child custody information, child custody visitation, Divorce, legal, parenting, post divorce, relationships