Arizona Divorce Lawyers | Child Custody | Division of Property

Visitation

When you are the noncustodial parent, you will have “visitation” with your children, listed below are the different types of visitation rights.

REASONABLE VISITATION

When a court determines the visitation rights of a noncustodial parent, it usually orders visitation at reasonable times and places, leaving it to the parents to work out a more precise schedule. Reasonable times and places allows the parents to exercise flexibility by taking into consideration both the parents' and the child's schedules. For the reasonable visitation approach to succeed, however, the parents must cooperate and communicate with each other frequently.  If you are not able to cooperate and effectively communicate with each other, this will not work.

FIXED VISITATION SCHEDULE

Sometimes courts ordering custody and visitation for children set up schedules, including the times and places for visitation with the noncustodial parent, such as every other weekend or Monday and Thursday evenings. A court will be inclined to order a fixed schedule especially if the hostility between the parents is so severe that the constant contact between them may be of detriment to the child.

SUPERVISED VISITATION

When a noncustodial parent has a history of violent or destructive behavior, especially toward the child, the court often requires that visitation between that parent and the child be supervised. This means that an adult (other than the custodial parent) must be present at all times during the visit. The adult may be known or unknown to the child, and may be someone agreed upon by the parents or appointed by the court. No matter how the adult is chosen, he must be approved by the court ordering the supervised visitation.  You must obey the court regarding the supervised visitation.

GRANDPARENTS' VISITATION

When parents separate or divorce, grandparents' relationships with their grandchildren are often at risk. To minimize the risk there are laws which allow grandparents to seek visitation rights with their grandchildren after divorce or separation. This right may be enforced even when both parents of the child object to the visitation or when the child's family is still intact. For example, the Supreme Court of Missouri decided that a statute authorizing a court to grant reasonable visitation rights to the grandparents was constitutional even though the parents claimed that such visitation would interfere with their constitutional right to raise their child as they saw fit. (Herndon v. Tuhey, 857 S.W.2d 203 (1993).) A New York couple won visitation rights with their grandson even though their grandson's family was still intact. (Emanuel S. v. Joseph E., 78 N.Y.2d 178 (1992).)

TEMPORARY CUSTODY OR VISITATION

When a couple separates or files for divorce, the spouses often need the immediate intervention of a court to establish custody and visitation. Either spouse may request a preliminary hearing before the judge to have these issues resolved. The orders made in these preliminary hearings are often, but not necessarily, what the final judgment will include.

PERMANENT CUSTODY OR VISITATION

A permanent custody or visitation order is permanent because it is from a final court order. It is intended to remain as ordered until the child reaches the age of majority. In reality, however, permanent custody or visitation may be modified if the parents agree or if the parent wanting the change petitions the court, shows a change of circumstance and the court issues a new order.