Visitation Rights in Texas

Information for Divorced & Unwed Parents

Visitation rights, when unjustly denied, can be traumatic for the child as well as the parent. In most cases, it is beneficial for the child to have access to both parents. We understand the importance of visitation to you and your child and the happiness it can bring to both of your lives. An attorney from Menduni Martindill, PLLC will aggressively and compassionately fight for visitation rights. If you already have court ordered visitation rights and you are being prevented from exercising visitation, we would be happy to meet with you and review the circumstances of your case and advise you on the best course of action.

What is visitation?

Visitation allows a non-custodial parent the chance to spend time with his/her child. There are three general categories of visitation: unsupervised visitation, supervised visitation, and virtual visitation. Unsupervised visitation is the most common type. If your visitation agreement grants unsupervised visitation, you have the right to take your child on an outing or to your home. However, visitation can only occur at a scheduled time. Your visitation schedule will determine when each parent is allowed to spend time with the child. Under certain circumstances, the schedule may be subject to certain limitations. For instance, the agreement might only allow in-home visitations until a baby is able to take a bottle.

These limitations may be temporary and usually involve special circumstances related to the child's unique needs. Supervised visitation allows the parent to visit his/her child – but only if another, responsible adult is present. Generally speaking, supervised visitation refers to a court order that allows the parent to spend time with the child with another adult for schedules amounts of time. Supervised visitation is not ideal. For instance, the visit may take place in an unnatural environment or specified location. Depending on the location of the visit, the child may be uncomfortable or nervous during scheduled visitation times.

Parents are encouraged to facilitate activates (such as board games, crafts, and cooking) to help the child feel at home and relaxed. In other situations, divorced parents use "virtual visitation" to maintain relationships with their children. Virtual visitation occurs when parents talk to their children via web cameras or instant message. Although these means of communication are not the same as physical visitation, they can be useful if the parent or child relocates. Additionally, virtual visitation may not be ideal for extremely young children and requires the participation of both parents.

Factors that Affect Visitation

Oftentimes, parents with a criminal history or a history of substance abuse, alcohol problems or physical abuse will have a much more difficult time of winning visitation rights with their children. People change and when they change for the better, and can show this to the court they may be able to have their rights reinstated as a parent or at least supervised visitation. We encourage you not to lose hope, no matter how hard it has been for you to handle this or how overwhelming the barriers may seem.

The court's main concern when making any decisions regarding visitation will always be what is in the best interests of the child. It is also the court's preference that the parents work together to resolve all issues concerning the child. When the court has ordered visitation, but circumstances have changed that affect the best interests of the child, it is possible to get the order modified.

Are you stuck in an unfair visitation schedule?

At Menduni Martindill, PLLC, we believe that your visitation schedule should focus on protecting your parent-child relationship and the well-being of your son or daughter. Are you subject to a court-ordered, unfair child visitation schedule? Contact us today. With the right lawyer on your side, you stand a better chance of obtaining the best visitation schedule for your unique family situation. Noncustodial parents have the right to pursue time with their children and custodial parents have the right to protect their children by seeing supervised visitation schedules. To see what our team of Austin family lawyers can do for your visitation case, call our office today and schedule a consultation or click here to fill out an online case evaluation form. The sooner we hear from you, the faster an attorney from our firm can help you get the case results you need.