During the divorce process, the spouses will negotiate the terms of a parenting plan (also called a custody agreement) if they have children together. One of the main factors to hash out during this parenting plan negotiation is child visitation.

Allow us to explain the difference between unsupervised and supervised child visitation and a spotlight on the exclusivity between visitation and child support:

Unsupervised Vs. Supervised Child Visitation

The two main types of child visitation are unsupervised and supervised. The most common form of visitation is unsupervised. During this visitation, the child is with the non-custodial parent for a certain amount of time.

For example, if the father is the non-custodial parent, he may have visitation every other Thursday to Sunday. The child and father will interact as they normally would, spending the night at his house and doing daily activities together without the mother’s presence.

The less common form of visitation is supervised which requires another adult to physically be with the child and non-custodial parent. Supervised visitation occurs if the non-custodial parent has issues that could potentially harm the child.

For example, if the father is prone to drinking or bursts of anger, supervised visitation may be required. If the issues are deemed serious, his visitation rights may be revoked altogether until the personal issues are worked through and it is deemed safe for the child to have unsupervised/supervised visitation.

Visitation & Child Support

Visitation rights and child support mandates are not linked to each other. This means that a custodial parent cannot withhold visitation from the non-custodial parent due to late payments on child support. However, that does not mean that legal action cannot be taken. The courts take it very seriously when child support is late or goes unpaid, as it is viewed as child neglect.

Further, paying child support does not mean the non-custodial parent automatically has visitation rights. The non-custodial parent must work through issues before visitation rights are reinstated if supervised visitation or no visitation altogether has been deemed necessary.

Eittreim Martin Cutler are your experienced family law attorneys.

Divorce is much more than the legal end to a marriage, especially if children are involved. Our experienced team can pursue the best possible result for you and your child(ren). Call us today if you’re considering a divorce: 770-225-7000