Protecting Your Visitation Rights as a Parent

Divorce can be difficult, but if you share children with your former spouse, the situation can potentially be even more harrowing, especially if you are concerned about your visitation rights. If you are in the midst of hashing out the details of your visitation scheduled and are worried that you might not receive a reasonable amount of parenting time, read on to learn how you can protect your rights.

What is Reasonable Visitation?

If your divorce case went through litigation and a divorce determined that you are entitled to reasonable visitation, this typically means that he or she is leaving it to the parents of the child or children to work out a plan for scheduled visitations. If parents are able to still cooperate with one another, this is usually the preferred method since it allows both parties to work around each other’s schedules.

However, it also means that the parent with custodial rights will likely have more power and influence over what he or she considered reasonable when it comes to scheduling and the duration of visits. Custodial parents do not have a legal duty to agree to the non-custodial parent’s proposed visitation schedule. That said, if a custodial parent is being inflexible simply out of spite or to be malicious to his or her former spouse, a judge might very well take this into consideration. Therefore, if you believe your former spouse is not willing to cooperate with you on forming a reasonable visitation plan, you should inform a judge and request a fixed visitation schedule instead.

What is a Fixed Visitation Schedule?

When a judge orders a fixed visitation schedule, he or she determines the times and, on occasion, places where the non-custodial parent can visit his or her children. For example, a non-custodial parent might have scheduled visitation rights on particular days, such as Tuesdays and Fridays, and every other weekend. If the court recognizes that there is still a considerable amount of conflict between you and your ex, it is more likely you will receive a fixed visitation schedule.

Fort Worth Divorce and Family Law Attorneys

If you have concerns about your visitation rights and are unable to work with your former spouse on a visitation plan that represents your interests and the interests of your children, contact The Clark Law Firm for the skilled legal assistance you need. Our Fort Worth family law attorneys can help you avoid further conflicts, speed up the process, and save money while helping you achieve your goals.

Contact our office today at (817) 435-4970 to schedule a complimentary consultation with a knowledgeable member of our legal team.