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Scott Law Offices - San Diego Visitation Lawyers Helping Parents Enforce Their RightsWhen two parents get divorced, there are several interests that need to be kept in mind by the presiding judge or mediator in order to come to an equitable solution. Obviously, the interests of each parent are relevant, but in most cases, decisions regarding the interests of any children of the marriage take priority over other matters.One of the issues that relates directly to the interests of the children of any marriage concerns the amount of contact they have with both parents. Unless the divorce ultimately decrees that the parents shall share custody jointly, which is statistically rare in nature, the court will almost always order some form and amount of visitation rights for the non-custodial parent. The reasoning is clear, but the way in which visitation is decided in terms of percentage of time can be complicated. Below is an overview of the issue. California Visitation GuidelinesAs stated above, the benefits of children enjoying a substantial amount of contact with both parents is of paramount importance in the eyes of the law. Therefore, only rare circumstances will prompt a court to prevent visitation from occurring. These rare circumstances are spoken to in general terms in the law, whereby visitation can be prevented if such visitation would prove to be detrimental to the child or children of the marriage.In the absence of these unusual factors, the court will order a percentage of time to be dedicated to visitation if the parents cannot work out an equitable solution on their own. Beyond the obvious considerations regarding the children's education and other norms of life, the courts will generally use their broad discretion to determine the proper amount of visitation. Some factors that have proven to be relevant include:
Perhaps the manner in which visitation becomes a legal issue more often than any other is when the custodial parent refuses the non-custodial parent his or her right to visitation. Simply put, the court will usually find the custodial parent in contempt if this occurs, and this includes the refusal of the custodial parent to provide for visitation if the non-custodial parent has failed to pay child support. How to ProceedIf you are facing the end of a marriage and want to be sure that you're doing everything possible to maintain the ability to see your children, or circumstances have arisen that would warrant some sort of adjustment of the ongoing visitation schedule, you need to secure the help of a San Diego visitation lawyer to make sure that your rights are properly enforced. Contact the Law Offices of James D. Scott today to schedule an initial consultation. |
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When a divorce involves someone who is an active member of our armed forces the case is often labeled a military divorce. The procedure process is also relatively similar than that of civilians.