When Should I Consider Supervised Visitation?

Supervised visitation can be enormously beneficial when you are concerned about leaving your child alone with your ex-spouse. Certain present and past circumstances may allow you to request supervised visitation. This allows your child to still see your ex-spouse while ensuring some level of protection. If you have any questions, then talk to an Oklahoma City family lawyer for guidance.

Basics of Supervised Visitation

The purpose of supervised visitation is to make sure the child is safe. Supervised visitation is often used in situations where the parent being supervised engaged in abuse in the past. Other reasons supervised visitation might be requested include:

• A history of domestic violence
• Past substance abuse or dependence
• Severe mental illness
• Chronic health conditions with certain limitations
• A history of inadequate parenting skills
• Having a criminal record

In other words, those with ex-spouses who committed abuse in the past have options when the ex-spouse files for child custody rights. If visitation is still court-ordered despite past abuse, the other parent can request the visitation to be supervised. What will happen under supervised visitation is a professional will attend the visitation to monitor parent-child interactions.

Not everyone realizes that supervised visitation orders can be temporary. In some cases, the professional will observe a certain number of parent-child visits. When no problems are seen, the supervised visitation order might be lifted. Consider contacting an Oklahoma City divorce lawyer if this brings up concerns for you.

How Judges Decide on Supervised Visitation

You might be wondering how family court judges decide on supervised visitation. For one, judges will consider the history of the parent in question. Judges will look at parent factors like:

• The ability to raise the child
• Whether the parent can protect the child from harm
• Physical and mental health
• History of abuse, neglect, and domestic violence
• Past stalking and harassment charges
• Any criminal charges

One of the most important factors judges will look at is the best interests of the child standard. The best interests of the child standard aims to protect the child’s physical and mental well-being. This means considering the child’s needs pertaining to:

• Safety
• Education
• Basic needs like food and shelter
• Psychological well-being
• Learning

If visitation could cause mental or physical harm to the child unless the visitation is supervised, then the judge is more likely to order supervised visits. In the most extreme cases of risk, judges may completely prevent any form of visitation until the parent is fit to see the child.

This decision for supervised visitation is a balancing act because the judge must also consider how preventing visitation could harm the child. Judges must consider the effects of keeping a parent from the child.

Family Attorney in Oklahoma City

Protecting your child is one of the most important things in a divorce case. Feel free to talk to an Oklahoma divorce lawyer if you have any concerns about obtaining supervised visitation. All you have to do is call the Putnam Law Office by dialing (405)-849-9149 for a consultation today. We are prepared to help you defend your case. Mr. Putnam is an experienced attorney in Oklahoma City, OK who can help you evaluate what legal options you have.