After the divorce – Visitation and child support

Are you just through with a divorce but having concerns on issues bordering on visitation and child support? Well, you are really not alone. There comes a time in your life when you need to take certain decisions, such that you would have loved to avoid if it were possible. One of such times is turbulent period in your marriage. Most marriages end in divorce due to irreconcilable differences between the spouses and if care is not taken, it gets messier if there are children or a child involved.

Visitation

What really is visitation? This is said to be the ability of the non-custodial parent to have what is called ‘parenting time’ with the child or children from the dissolved marriage. Although the child or children may be living with the custodial parent, a court usually defines a set period of time during which they can interact with the non-custodial parent. Most times, this time or period is influenced by both the custodial and non-custodial parent’s situation.

In determining visitation and child support, especially visitation, the parents’ work schedules, location of school, the child’s safety and mostly, the preference of the child and parents is put into consideration. The child’s child care history is also considered. Allowing a child maximum time to be with the other parent should not in any way be misinterpreted as any form of custody.
Supervised visitation

In a situation where the safety of the custodial parent or that of the child or children is in question, it becomes necessary that the judge grants supervised visitation. This is especially prevalent in homes where cases of domestic violence and child abuse had formerly existed. However, it will take the custodial parent to prove to the judge why the non-custodial parent’s visitation should be supervised and based on the facts submitted, the frequency and duration of the supervised visits will then be determined.

Relationship between visitation and child support

When it comes to visitation and child support, they are virtually two different issues. Based on this, the possibility of a non-custodial parent refusing to pay child support just because he or she is not getting any visitation rights is very minimal. On the other hand too, a custodial parent cannot deny the non-custodial parent visitation rights just because he or she, being the custodial parent is not getting any child support from the non-custodial parent.

If such situation arises, it would always be better to let an experienced divorce attorney handle the matter and get it sorted out. Take the right course of action.