Family Law

When Visitation Rights Are Denied

By Dan Nunley, Esq.

I am receiving an ever-increasing number of telephone calls and emails from non-custodial parents concerning their visitation rights being either out-right denied or at least negatively impacted by the primary custodial parent's willful actions. In my opinion, the primary custodial parent has an obligation to comply with the court's orders regarding visitation and should do everything in his/her power to not cause trouble. If there exists a reasonable fear that visitation with the non-custodial parent will cause harm to the child, then the custodial parent should bring the issue to the judge's attention without delay.

However, a Florida family law attorney's recent article seems to say that he believes that it is too much to expect custodial parents' to comply with visitation schedules. He apparently believes that non-custodial parents should expect to have to fight for their visitation rights. While that is often the unfortunate case, it should never be the norm.

My experience is that family law courts are clogged with cases in which divorced parents return to court over and over again to litigate issues that have been previously determined. I'll wager that each person reading this post knows personally of a divorce case where the decree was granted years ago but the parents are still waging battle after battle in court today. Sometimes the issues involved justify ongoing post-decree litigation. But mostly I believe the never-ending litigation is the result of the hurt and anger and acrimony built up between the former spouses who refuse to behave like responsible adults and move on with their lives. Their actions result in an enormous waste of time, money and judicial resources.

Feel free to share your opinion.

Source for post: Brent Rose of the The Orsini & Rose Florida Divorce and Family Law Blog.

Full post as published by Oklahoma Family Law Blog on January 28, 2008 (boomark / email).