When You Should Push For Supervised Visitation Of Your Children Following A Divorce
In many divorce cases, the parents will end up sharing custody of their children — either because they've agreed to this scenario or a family court judge has deemed that it's best for everyone involved. In other situations, supervised visitation might be the best course of action. In this type of custody, one parent will have custody of the children, but the other will be allowed to see them at regular intervals, provided that the visitation is supervised by the parent who has custody or other designated adult. If you're going through a divorce, here are some times that you should push for supervised visitation.
The Other Parent Has Been Abusive
While you might not want to keep your ex-spouse from seeing his or her children, you might feel that supervised visitation is warranted if your ex-spouse has behaved abusively toward the children in the past. While instances of abuse may also be enough to get you full custody, supervised visitation can be another option in some cases. Keep in mind that abuse takes many forms. Even if your ex-spouse didn't physically abuse your children, you may have noticed signs of emotional abuse, such as name calling, criticism, and other similar issues.
The Other Parent Has Threatened To Take The Children
People can sometimes make threats during divorce proceedings because they're upset, and while many people won't follow through on what they threaten, you never want to jeopardize your children's well being with the custody arrangement. If your ex-spouse has threatened to take the children and flee the state, for example, you'll likely want to share this information with a judge and push for supervised visitation. Your presence during the visitation will make you feel more secure about your children.
The Other Parent Is Unreliable
When parents share custody of their children after a divorce, both have to be highly reliable. When you lived together, one parent could have reacted to shelter the children from the other parent's lack of reliability. For example, if one parent forgot to pick up the kids from school, the other could go do it. If your ex-spouse is unreliable, you might not feel comfortable with him or her having the children in an unsupervised environment. This is another time to push for supervised visitation.
Don't be afraid to share any concerns that you have with your attorney. It's easier to push for supervised visitation now than to get shared custody and then try to amend it later on. For more information, contact a local divorce attorney or visit sites like http://www.cappolellalaw.com.
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