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Virtual Visitation for Child Custody and Visitation

By James Chau

I recently found an article about virtual visitation or ?e-visitation?. Many parents find they may need to relocate in order to find jobs and more affordable living. For those who are now divorced, one parent's moving for economic reasons can be hard on any children involved.

Recently, family courts have come up with virtual visitation rights, which allow for parents to interact with their children through the use of webcams, video-enabled phone applications, text messaging and e-mail, and other forms of technology.

For example, a New York matter, a New York judge ruled that as a condition of the mother?s move that she must allow her children to communicate virtually with their father through Skype. The case was the first time a New York judge had required virtual visitation. In this case the martial home, where the Petitioner resides with the children, was in the process of foreclosure and there was no equity. The Petitioner had been laid off some for quite some time and her unemployment benefits were going to expire soon. The father was also allowed visits with the children during their vacations.

In other states, the idea of a virtual visitation seems to be growing in acceptance. In Utah, a father asked the judge to require his ex-wife to allow him to use Skype in order to maintain contact with his child. In 2004, Utah to became the first state to accept virtual visitation laws. Other states that have virtual visitation laws are: Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin.

In the states that allow virtual visitation, the law of course vary. The availability of virtual visitation is usually not a major factor when a judge makes child custody and in-person visitation rulings. The judge would outline through what days the visitation may occur and for how long the session might last.

When considering virtual visitation, family-court judges are looking at the best interests of the child. Judges have to consider if virtual visitation will critically interfere with the child's well-being. On the flip side, Judges also have to consider whether virtual visitation could improve the child?s situation.

If there are any legal questions you may have, I encourage you to, please contact my San Jose Divorce Lawyers office. My San Jose Family Lawyer offices assists many people who are going through family law related issues. We have many Affordable San Jose Divorce Lawyer solutions for many different budgets. We help many individuals through this very chaotic period in their life. Proudly serving the following cities, Fremont, Milpitas, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Mountain View, and Santa Clara.

Full post as published by San Jose Divorce Law and Family Law Lawyer Blog on November 15, 2010 (boomark / email).