Why Visitations Are Sometimes Supervised
In some cases, the need to allow a parent to visit their child must be balanced with the need to keep the child safe. If the court does not believe that a parent is trustworthy enough to be left in sole custody with a child, they may choose to mandate that your visits be supervised. To make the most out of your visits, it's important to know what a supervised visit involves.
Who Will Supervise the Visit?
Your visit will never be supervised by your ex-partner. Instead, the supervisor will be a neutral third party. This party must be present at all visits and must be present for the entire duration of the visit. The provider observes the interactions between the parent and child and records everything that is said.
How Long Will a Supervised Visitation Order Last?
In some cases, the supervised visitation order is temporary. Once the conditions of the court have been met, the supervised visitations will no longer be necessary and you can begin having unsupervised visitations again. Therefore, if you want to end the supervised visitation requirement, the best place to start is to consult with a family attorney.
The professional provider is not free, and you will need to choose a provider from a list of approved sources. The first fee to pay will be the intake appointment which will require a one-time fee. Then, you will pay by the hour for the supervised visitation.
Reasons Why You Might Be Required to Have Supervised Visitation
The court might decide that your visitation must be supervised because you have a history of alcoholism, they believe there is a threat of parental abduction, there is evidence of you experiencing a mental illness, or there is something else the court might be concerned about. Once you are able to prove that the issue the court was concerned about has been resolved, you may be able to have your supervised visitation order removed.
If you do not remain in compliance with the supervised visitation orders, the court will put additional sanctions in place. However, if there is a legitimate reason to have changes made to your visitation schedule, you'll be able to make these changes through the court. However, you will not want to make changes drastically. If you are facing penalties as a result of failing to follow the court-ordered visitation mandates, you will always want to consult with a family attorney.