Memphis, Tennessee Child Visitation Lawyer

Child Visitation Lawyer Memphis Tennessee

Parenting time, colloquially referred to as visitation, is often a critical issue in a couple’s divorce. Continue reading and contact a Memphis, Tennessee child visitation lawyer from Rice Law to learn more about how parenting time works in Tennessee and how our legal team can assist you.

Child Visitation Lawyer in Memphis, Tennessee | Here to Support Your Child’s Best Interests

The first thing you should understand is that if a mother and father can agree on visitation, the court will usually approve the plan. The best plans maximize the parents’ (and in some cases grandparents’) time with the children. You need to consider everyone’s schedule, school time, outside activities, sports, church, vacation, and the fact that, as the children become teenagers, they will have a life of their own and will usually prefer to be with their friends rather than either parent.

A typical pattern is alternating weekends, a few weeks in the summer, and alternating holidays. If the parties live far apart, this pattern will not work. The pattern then calls for fewer but longer visitation periods. If the parties live very far apart, you must deal with who will provide or pay for transportation.

Psychologists, Judges, and our team encourage visitation, except in extraordinary circumstances. Try to keep the other parent involved in school activities and other events. If you cannot agree on visitation terms, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced Memphis, Tennessee child custody lawyer from our firm.

Holiday Scheduling for Divorced Parents

In short, holiday visitation schedules outline who will have custody of the child during the holiday season or specific days during the holiday season. Holiday visitation schedules aren’t limited to just Christmastime, though; you can include things like summer vacation in your agreement as well. In fact, your visitation schedule can even include your child’s birthday and your birthday, too.

Examples of holidays you can include in your agreement:

  • New Years
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • President’s Day
  • Easter
  • Passover Day
  • Mother’s Day
  • Memorial Day
  • Father’s Day
  • Fourth of July
  • Labor Day
  • Halloween
  • Thanksgiving Day
  • Black Friday
  • Birthdays (Parent and Child)

In addition to specific holidays, your schedule can include different vacation periods such as spring, summer, winter, and fall– depending on your child’s school schedule.

Disagreements About Visitation

Sometimes, when parents fight about visitation, they are really upset about something else that they do not believe they can fight about. It may be because they feel angry at the other spouse for leaving, or it may be that they feel they gave up too much in the divorce agreement. But, for whatever reason, they are involved in an argument about the children. It is most often the custodial parent’s wanting to restrict the other’s visitation. This is normally not a good idea, because when the custodial parent says to the other, “I don’t want you to visit at this time,” that immediately becomes the time that the other parent wants to visit with the child. Usually, the problem is that the custodial parent does not want the other parent to visit.

In some cases, the problem is that the custodial parent wants the noncustodial parent to visit, and they will not do it because the custodial parent is trying to force the other to visit with the children. The best thing to do if you do not want the noncustodial parent to visit is to say you do want them to visit. Bury the other with visitation, and remember in the back of your mind that they are a free babysitter. Also, you might remember that the non-custodial parent who visits regularly tends to be a parent who pays support regularly.

The Importance of Allowing Visitation

Even if your situation is that the noncustodial parent is a jerk, and you do not think it is the best thing in the world for the kids to be around the jerk, you still need to encourage visitation. The children need to know that the noncustodial parent is a jerk, and the best way for them to know it is to let them see it with their own eyes on a regular basis. Withholding visitation from the children or the noncustodial parent puts you against the child’s imagination. If the children do not see the jerk, they soon forget what a jerk he or she is and begin to blame you for the noncustodial parent leaving. The child’s imagination is then on the other parent’s side. The children dream about a perfect parent and, since they do not see the absent parent, they do not see any flaws in that parent. You might beat many things, but you will have a hard time beating your child’s imagination.

Contact a Memphis, Tennessee Child Visitation Lawyer

There is nothing more important than retaining skilled legal counsel when faced with matters of child custody. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. Contact the Memphis family lawyers here at Rice Law today.

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