Fathers Custody Rights - Are Your Visitation Rights Being Interfered With?

When parents separate one of the the major considerations is custody and visitation schedules for the children of the relationship. Divorce breaks the ties between husband and wife, custody splits the bonds of parenting. It is imperative for each parent to remember that has a right to an ongoing relationship with each parent.

Although the trend is being reversed, it is true that the typical judicial attitude towards custody most often favors women. Many judges still feel that women are naturally better at mothering than fathers are at fathering, and these judges will always show a bias towards the mother. However, with the changing of socio-economic structure of contemporary society, fathers are beginning to enjoy a greater role as parents. When a father has been given visitation rights it is imperativethat these rights are not interfered with.

The best case scenario is where the parents co-operate with each other to give the children lots of time with each parent. However, as is often the case, this ends in the parent who doesn’t have custody, which is often the father, getting very little visitation time with his children, and many angry arguments over delayed visits and children not being ready on time. In order to avoid these situations, lots of judges order the parties to work out a rather detailed custody schedule (known as a parenting plan or parenting agreement) which consists of a specific visitation schedule and also specifies who has responsibility for both the daily decisions and major decisions concerning the welfare of the children.

If you and you ex have already created a custody schedule that has formed part of the official custody decision then your visitation rights are protected by law and can be enforced by the court. Even though there may be times that you might have to compromise on visitation dates, as in when someone gets sick, or certain appointments need to be made, or other special circumstances regular interference with visitation may even be used as an argument that there is a change in circumstances which can lead to a modification of the custody schedule. In some states it can even be grounds for giving custody to the parent who has had their visitation rights interfered with.

At first, the visitation schedule may be more of a trial periods. Either spouse does not know what the future will hold as far as how their parent child relationship will develop. Very often the needs of parents and children mean that the parenting plan is often modified without going to court. If one parent, however, later reneges on the agreement, the other person may not be able to enforce it unless the court has approved the modification. Therefore it is most advisable to get any modifications approved by the court.

For the non custodial parent, ensure that your parenting schedule is very precise about your visitation rights, including holidays, the amount of hours and the places you can see your children. In most states, it is a crime to interfere with custody or visitation rights. This crime is commonly referred to as “custodial interference.” Depending on the state, parents can actually sue the other person for damages if their custody rights are interfered with, as well as get help from law enforcement.

Often, a father stops paying child support in retaliation for the mother interfering with his visitation rights. Custody and visitation should not be confused with child support. Despite what the mother may do, you must always pay child support. There are heavy penalties for failing to do so. Every parent has the duty to support their children.

A major study identified a revealing connection between custody and visitation plans, levels of conflict and the payment of court-ordered child support. Fathers continued paying child support more often in situations when they spent regular and frequent time with their children, including daytime and overnight stays. As they became less involved in the children’s lives, they became less likely to continue paying child support.

Are your visitation rights being interfered with? At Child Custody Information you will find invaluable information on child visitation laws including answers to the most commonly asked questions about child visitation laws.