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| | Visitation Rights |
In a divorce, normally one parent is awarded custody of the children, and the other is awarded visitation. Typical visitation for the non-custodial parent is every other weekend, every other holiday, two or four weeks in the summer, and perhaps one evening during the week. Child support is not normally suspended during summer visitation.
The custodial parent cannot suspend visitation because the non-custodial parent is behind in child support payments and is subject to severe civil and criminal penalties if the court determines that the suspension is in violation of the court order. However, visitation can be altered for good cause shown to the court. For instance, should the non-custodial parent move from the state, he or she may be able to alter the visitation schedule to allow for more extended visits during summer and during other school holidays, instead of the every other weekend schedule.
Parties may also agree to more extensive visitation than that normally ordered by the court, but any such agreement should be in writing and should be formally filed with the court to protect each parties rights. If you have other questions, you should probably consult an attorney.
Describing the parent's visitation rights as “fair and reasonable visitation” is a common practice in uncontested divorces, however, the parent who receives “fair and reasonable visitation” is not receiving a right which is easily enforceable. What exactly is “fair and reasonable visitation?” In most cases it is an unknown. What is fair and reasonable to the father may not be fair and reasonable to the mother. In the long run, if the parties can't agree to the terms of the visitation, one of the parties is going to be required to set a hearing before the Court to have the Judge set a specific schedule
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