What Are Court Ordered Visitation Schedule

Parents each have visitation rights when it comes to parenting their children. When a couple divorces, unless they have joint custody of their children, there will be one custodial parent and one non-custodial parent. The non-custodial parent will usually have visitation rights through a visitation order that allows them to see their children. There are many issues that may arise when a couple is following a visitation order. When a couple cannot work past their differences, the court steps in to help determine what visitation rights are fair. Consult a child visitation lawyer to review your case.

While the family courts prefer that parents devise their own visitation order, they recognize that the animosity that parents may have for each other can make that impossible. If the child's parents cannot decide on a mutually accepted visitation schedule, then a court-ordered visitation order is created by the family court. While the court tries to satisfy the non-custodial parent's visitation rights, a court-ordered visitation order sets up a schedule that parents often disagree with. This often leads to later disputes about the court-ordered visitation order.

Parents that can work on agreeing and making their own visitation schedule, is usually preferable and benefits everyone involved. If a court-ordered visitation order is necessary, there are some common schedules that may be put into effect. While the non-custodial parent's visitation rights are not usually terminated, they may find that they do not get to see their child as much as they would, if the two parents could come to an agreement. There are several typical schedules that a non-custodial parent might be given as their court-ordered visitation order.

One common schedule for a non-custodial parent is a weekly schedule of alternate weekends. Sometimes the court-ordered visitation order will also allow one night a week, depending on the distance between the two parents' locations. A holiday schedule is usually created as part of a court-ordered visitation order. Visitation rights do allow for a parent to see their children on holidays, depending on the circumstances. Usually, the holidays are split between the parents. Holidays may also be switched on a yearly basis, with a child spending one Christmas with their custodial parent and the next years Christmas with the non-custodial parent. Usually the child is allowed to be with their mother on Mother's Day and their father on Father's Day. Vacations are other times that a child may spend a few weeks at a time with the non-custodial parent. Often, a visitation order allows for the non-custodial parent to have the child from two to four weeks, consecutively.

It is sometimes necessary for a court-ordered visitation order to be created if the parents cannot come to an agreement. Although it may not always be preferable, the courts do try to keep both the visitation rights of the non-custodial parent and the child's best interests in mind.

NEXT: Determining the Best Interest of the Child First