Child Visitation Guidelines
LegalMatch Law Library Managing Editor, Ken LaMance, Attorney at Law 
Who Determines Child Visitation Guidelines?
If you are a parent of a minor child, and are not married to, or in a long-term and cohabitating relationship with, the other parent, you probably still want to be involved in your child?s life. If the other parent has custody of the child, however, this simple proposition can get very complicated, very quickly.In an ideal case, the parents will be able to come to an agreement regarding child visitation on their own, without the need for a court to intervene (other than to certify the agreement, thereby making it legally-binding, allowing each party to hold the other to it).
However, in some cases, the parents can?t come to an agreement on their own, and a court has to create a child visitation arrangement for them.
Child Visitation Arrangements
There are a few different types of child visitation setups. Most generally, they can be broken down into unsupervised and supervised visitation. Unsupervised visitation is the most common, and will be the most desirable arrangement in the vast majority of ordinary cases.In unsupervised visitation, the visiting parent is allowed to spend a certain amount of time (usually a few days per week) with their children, without anybody?s supervision. Obviously, this is what would seem most natural to the children, so it is the preferred arrangement.
However, if the parent has shown that, for some reason, they should not be trusted to be left alone with the children, but the children would still benefit from the parent?s presence, a court will allow supervised visitation. This typically allows the parent to be with the children, only in the presence of a court-approved supervisor (usually a social worker). The expense associated with providing the supervisor usually must be borne by the parent.
Typically, some deviation is allowed from the visitation schedule, to accommodate unforeseen events that make the non-custodial parent unable to visit on the scheduled date. Also, the custodial parent often has a great deal of discretion in allowing deviations from the schedule.
Find the Right Child Visitation Lawyer
If you are a non-custodial parent, and want to be involved in your child?s life, you?ll have to come to an agreement with the other parent concerning child visitation. To this end, finding a good child visitation attorney can be invaluable. In addition to helping you negotiate an agreeable arrangement with the other parent, they can help convince a court to grant you the best possible child visitation rights, if an agreement cannot be reached. LegalMatch can connect you with an experienced and reputable child visitation lawyer, who practices in your area, in order to ensure that you get the most extensive child visitation rights possible.Consult a Lawyer - Present Your Case Now!
Last Modified: 07-22-2011 10:00 AM PDT
