Family Matters Law Group believes the more you know about family law and your case, the more productive your office visits and time in court can be. An educated client often leads to a successful client. To that end, we offer Legal Snacks, short videos to help you understand your case. This month’s Legal Snack addresses one of the most common complaints we hear about in our office: not enough visitation time. What options do you have if you feel the standard visitation awarded by the court does not provide enough time with your child?
First, let’s hear from Mrs. Edidiong Aaron, founder of Family Matters Law Group:
A Key Question From This Legal Snack
In this short video, Mrs. Aaron addresses the key question of what is “standard” visitation, and what can you expect if awarded such by the court?
What Is Standard Visitation?
Standard visitation is the normal visitation schedule presented to the non-custodial parent. In a custody case, while there is the possibility of joint physical custody where the child lives with both parents and splits time between households, many times, the court will award physical custody to one parent with visitation privileges to the non-custodial parent.
In this case, the visitation agreement usually calls for the child to come and visit every other weekend from Friday to Sunday with clearly defined hours for pick up and return (typically 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Sunday).
Holidays are included in a standard visitation agreement and usually alternate. An example would be on even-numbered years the child spends Thanksgiving with the mother and Christmas with the father. Then, on odd-numbered years, it reverses with the child spending Thanksgiving with the father and Christmas with the mother.
Keep in mind that there is no set uniform “standard visitation.” Each case is unique, and the norms for visitation that Mrs. Aaron discussed in the video are guidelines. The court can decide to alter the standard visitation agreement as it sees fit.
I Don’t Get Enough Time With My Child
One of the great joys of parenting is experiencing milestones with your child. Whether it’s baby’s first steps or hearing the child’s first words, no parent wants to miss out on those special life moments.
It is a common complaint from the non-custodial parent to want to spend more time with their child than just a few weekends and a holiday or two. The good news is that with a caring, experienced attorney, a visitation schedule can be crafted to allow for more time with your child so that you can be a significant part of the child’s life and not miss out on those formative moments.
Family Matters Law Group Can Help
As Mrs. Aaron pointed out at the end of the video, Family Matters Law Group routinely fights for adjustments to the standard visitation schedule to support non-custodial parents in their quest for more parenting time. Our firm believes in making decisions that are in the best interests of the child, and additional parenting time falls in that category.
If you are in Henry, Clayton, or Fayette counties, or reside in the Atlanta metro area, contact Family Matters Law Group today so we can begin fighting for your children, your assets, and your money. We can help get a standard visitation order modified to give you extra time with your child.
Setting up a consultation is easy: call or use our convenient online contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.
