Family Law and Divorce Matters

Visitation is the arrangements for a child to see the parent with whom the child does not live.  In many cases, where one parent has physical custody, the other parent has visitation.  Sole legal custody does NOT prevent the other parent from visiting.

The right of visitation and the duty to pay child support are not dependent on the other, but are mutually exclusive.  The court will enforce each separately.   "Reasonable visitation" is what describes a non-custodial parent's visiting rights, when specific times are not detailed within the agreement or the court's decree.  So, if you and your spouse cannot agree on what is "reasonable" or have a history of not being able to agree on things, then it is important to have visitation clearly delineated in your divorce decree.  

TYPICAL VISITATION

Of course, no situation is the same, sometimes there are very young children who need shorter but more frequent visits.  In some scenarios, there is a history of abuse, or the child may have significant special needs, which may require supervised visitation.   However in cases where there are no glaring issues, the most typical visitation schedule includes the visiting parent, who  is used to spending significant time with the children, having overnight visits occurring  every other weekend starting on either a Friday or a Saturday and continuing through Sunday evening, plus one or two dinner visits every week.  

PRESERVE YOUR RIGHTS TO YOUR CHILD

At NICASTRO LAW, L.L.C., we represent clients at all stages of the process, whether in conjunction with a divorce proceeding, a proceeding for separate support, a modification or a contempt proceeding.  In each case, we work with the client to insure that their rights to visitation are preserved.