Parenting Time With Your Children
Getting Fair Time With Your Children After Divorce
When the divorce decree says the children are going to live with the other parent full time, it can be heart-wrenching. You want to see your children as much as possible. At Abel Reed Williams, LLC, we understand that your children mean everything to you and can aggressively advocate for you in this and other parenting time matters.
Are You Entitled to Parenting Time?
Any parent who is not granted primary custody of a child is entitled to reasonable parenting time or visitation with the child, except in circumstances where a judge determines that visitation with the noncustodial parent may endanger the child’s physical health, emotional development, and it is not in the best interests of the child.
Maintain Your Relationship With Your Child
Parenting time is another term for visitation, and it refers to the noncustodial parent’s right to see his or her child and spend meaningful time with them. Courts often order frequent visitation to noncustodial parents so that both parents can maintain a strong and healthy relationship with their children.
Develop a Schedule
Indiana courts encourage parents to develop their own parenting time schedules. If the parents cannot agree on the terms of the visitation arrangement, however, the court will develop a parenting time schedule for them to follow.
Indiana adheres to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines, which will be used to create a schedule if the parents cannot agree to their own visitation arrangement. It is within the court’s discretion, however, to order a parenting time schedule that deviates from the guidelines, for certain circumstances.
A noncustodial parent will not necessarily be automatically granted visitation rights. If the judge has any reason to suspect past abuse or neglect, for example, he or she can order that the parent either have supervised visitation or none at all.
An Indiana family law attorney can assist in formulating a parenting time schedule that works best for you, your spouse and your children.
Enforcing Parenting Time Orders
An injunction or contempt action may be filed against a custodial parent who fails to adhere to a parenting time order or refuses to allow the noncustodial parent the allotted visitation time with the child. In order to file for an injunction, the noncustodial parent must:
- Have been granted parenting time rights with a child who resides with the custodial parent
- Regularly pay court-ordered child support
- Have been prevented from exercising parenting time rights by the custodial parent
If the judge finds that the custodial parent has violated the parenting time order without justifiable cause, the custodial parent may be held in contempt of court. They may be required to pay the noncustodial parent’s attorneys’ fees and be required to perform community service without compensation.
Trying To Resolve Parenting Time Issues And Need Help?
So many factors in divorce concern the children and when time with your children is at stake, you want to secure a highly skilled parenting time attorney. To speak to an honest yet aggressive divorce lawyer who can assist you, call us in Terre Haute at 812-238-2121 or request a consultation by email. We can help reduce your stress knowing you have a caring attorney on your side.